Greenhouse Gases
The issue of Greenhouse gases can also be known as GHG and are claimed to be atmospheric gases which pertain to the temperature of the world by radiation and absorption - of course these days, there is quite a lot of controversy regarding this issue and there are numerous different opinions on it as to the actual validity of the science with some saying it is true and others that it is simply not logical as the data is being presented. Particular gases that may be involved are first of all water vapour, secondly carbon dioxide, thirdly methane and also nitrous oxide as well as ozone in addition. It is pointed out that a similar process is found on planets such as Venus and Titan and that without their thermal changing capability, the temperature of the earth would be 33 ºC colder in their absence.
It is reported that since the Industrial revolution began, the burning of fossil fuels led to an increased amount of carbon dioxide from 280 to 390 ppm. It is asserted that emitting carbon is related directly to energy that is consumed. It is claimed that the impact of a gas will be affected from on the one hand its characteristics and additionally its amount. In terms of the impact that they are claimed to have, the gases are at the following amount - first of all for water vapor, it is around 36 to 72%, secondly for carbon dioxide, it is 9 to 26%, thirdly for methane it is 4 to 9% and last of all for ozone, it is 3 to 7%.
It is reported that further from having solely human sources as in the case of halocarbons, that most relevant gases are created both naturally and by humans additionally. It is thus claimed that human behaviour has caused extra greenhouse gases to the extent that there would not be otherwise and the main reason for this has been by burning fossil fuels and additionally cutting down forests. An analysis entitled the 2007 Fourth Assessment Report which was put together by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change claimed that "increases in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations is very likely to have caused most of the increases in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century". This appraisal defined 'most of' being in terms of over 50% of that which was produced overall.
Interestingly and perhaps something that most are not aware of, is the assertion that the majority of the greenhouse effect is reported to be related to the presence of water vapour. As noted already, this can be from 36 to 66% in situations where the sky is clear of clouds and from 66 to 85% where there are clouds additionally. It is worthy of note that it is asserted that human activities do not particularly change the concentration of water vapour - however that of course might be different at a lower-level scale for example in the instance of irrigated fields. It has been reported by the Environmental Health Center of the National Safety Council, that the amount of water vapour in the atmosphere can account for up to 2% in total of gases.
Furthermore, it has been reported that when warmed, air can hold more water vapour than would otherwise be the case due to the 'Clausius-Clapeyron' relation. Thus it is claimed that warming can lead to greater water content capacity in the atmosphere. However opposingly it is stated that these do not result in a runaway situation because of so-called 'negative' feedbacks which can prevent a continual effect. It has been stated that since the start of the Industrial Revolution, most greenhouse gases have gone up in amount. Furthermore, it is asserted that the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing at an even higher level. For instance it is claimed that for the 1960s, the amount of increase annually was 37% of what it was for the years from 2000 to 2007.
Natural processes that it is claimed could cause greenhouse gases to be be reduced and/or removed would be by for example chemical reactions in the atmosphere. It is stated that other than water vapour which might only last for around 9 days, different gases may take multiple years to exit the atmosphere. In terms of negative emissions, it is asserted that a reasonable long-term climate situation would require activities to capture and store negative gases in order to return to a homeostatic state.