How does combustion affect global warming?

Answer 1

Combustion affects global warming by dumping lots of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. We also see other combustion byproducts emitted into the air. The net result of all this is that the "balance" of gases in the atmosphere is shifted a little bit. And the shift allows the atmosphere to "trap" more heat than it would without the other gases we added to what's already in the air.

The trapping of more thermal energy over a long period causes average temperatures to shift up just a bit, and the whole of the atmosphere makes a slight shift in response. This leaves winters a bit less cold in lots of places, and summers a bit hotter and dryer in lots of other locations. Plant and animal life that are "acclimated" to the way things were are forced to adapt or die. And with the death of certain plants and the growth of others, biomes change, and the animals that live there must change or move to different locales.

A "chain reaction" of sorts results when we burn large amounts of fossil fuels to generate electricity and power vehicles. This causes the climate of different places on earth, which changes a bit over time, to change a lot faster over a shorter period. The footprint of man on global climate is so large that people, with their fossil burning habits, are behind the speed of global climate change.

It's important to understand the earth's climate changes all the time. And it always has. But with our large-scale burning (combustion) of fossil fuels like coal and all those petroleum products (gasoline, diesel and fuel oil), we are speeding things up in the direction of warming the planet. When the ocean has "caught up" with the massive changes we've been making on the atmosphere, we'd better buckle up for some severe transformations in the "normal" weather patterns we've been used to. And so had all the plants and animals as well.

Answer 2

Yes, the burning of anything, and especially fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) in industry, transport and the generation of electricity, releases carbon dioxide (CO2). This is causing global warming, which is damaging the planet.

Answer 3

Yes, the combustion, or burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) in industry, transport and the generation of electricity releases carbon dioxide (CO2), the greenhouse gas that is causing anthropogenic, or man-made, global warming. Global warming is then causing climate change.

Answer 4

Combustion, or burning, releases carbon dioxide. Most things are made largely of carbon. Trees are more than 50% carbon. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas which traps heat. This is how most burnings create greenhouse gases.

Answer 5

Combustion is O2 and C making CO2. CO2 is unfortunately a 'bit player' when it comes to the consideration of all of the many other more potent green-house gasses.