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GHGs are "good" because they heat the Earth, however, like any good thing, too much can be a VERY VERY bad thing, heating the Earth too much, and killing off species that can only survive in their exact climate (which includes humans).
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∙ 14y ago
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Greenhouse gases are the product of combustion of which energy source?
All sources of energy which combust carbon containing fuels (coal, oil, gas, wood, peat, alcohol, gasoline. diesel, biofuel, etc.) produce GHGs. Even the combustion of hydrogen in air instead of pure oxygen can create NOx compounds which are GHGs. Nuclear, solar, wind, tide, geothermal, and hydro electrical energy is created without GHGs.
What are the 6 major GHGs targeted through the Kyoto Protocol?
They are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons, and perfluorocarbons.
Are there possibilites of changing greenhouse gases?
Greenhouse gasses or GHGs (carbon dioxide, methane and a few others) are emitted from natural and manmade sources. The Earth is set to handle the amount from natural sources, but the extra from manmade sources tips the balance to cause a slow increase in the GHGs. Mankind can restore the balance by * reducing the emissions from fuel burning (the primary cause) or * by increasing the amount taken from the air by increasing forest cover or the creation of other carbon absorbing systems.
What is a greenhouse gas layer?
There is no greenhouse gas (GHG) layer. Greenhouse gases are mixed throughout the atmosphere producing an essentially homogeneous mixture. The popular concept, thanks to "bad science" news is that GHGs accumulate in a layer somewhere "up there" and form a barrier of gas that traps heat from the sun like glass in a greenhouse. Wrong! The GHGs in the atmosphere absorb heat from the sun because of the length of their atomic bonds. The warmer gases share their heat with the rest of the atmospheric gases increasing the average gas temperature
What gases are the main greenhouse gases and how they are upsetting the Earth and also demonstrate using chemical reactions?
Many chemical compounds present in Earth's atmosphere behave as 'greenhouse gases'.The natural GHGs are:carbon dioxidemethanewater vapornitrous oxideThe artificial or man-made GHGs are:chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)Perfluorocarbons (PFCs)sulfur hexafluoride (SF6).There is no chemical reaction which allows them to increase the retention of solar energy, just physical absorption and release of heat. This process allows the Earth's atmosphere to heat up.
What is the cap-and-trade approach to pollution control?
Cap and trade is touted as a method of reducing GHG emissions based on: * capping the amount of GHGs that a plant can emit (in total tonnes/yr) with a declining permitted amount over the following years. * emissions in excess of the permitted amount cost the firm a fee (say $10/tonne) Assume the company can either pay the fine or put in pollution control equipment which would remove GHGs at a cost of more than $10/tonne. What is supposed to happen next is that another firm which will be below it's permitted emission rate will step up and sell the "hole" for $8/tonne, making money for themselves and saving the first company $2/tonne. Alternately if he first company can put in a GHG control system at the second company for less than one at their own plant site they will do that and claim the reduction for themselves. What I have seen happen is that, since this activity looks more like commodity trading than pollution control, the company's trading staff get involved instead of the environmentalists and engineers. You soon have a futures market in GHGs - big bucks to be made by all. Except the purpose of the program is to reduce GHGs not play with them.
What Substances and chemicals are involved in greenhouse gases?
Methane, carbon dioxide and water vapour are the big three gases involved in global climate change. More potent GHGs such as CFCs, SF6 and NOx are present in much smaller amounts
What gas absorb and trap heat radiation?
Collectively the gases in the Earth's atmosphere which trap heat are called the Greenhouse Gases (GHGs). They are prmarily:Water vapour (H2O)Carbon dioxide (CO2)Methane (CH4)Nitrous oxide (N2O)Ozone (O3)Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
What is the production of greenhouse gasses?
From several sources it was calculated that the world annual emissions of the big 4 GHGs were as follows. The data does not account for water vapour or natural emissions. * CO2 30 billion tons * CH4 7 billion tons * Nitrous Oxide 3 billion * Fluorocarbons 3 billion
What does 'cap and trade' mean?
Cap and trade is touted as a method of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions based on: * capping the amount of GHGs that a plant can emit (in total tonnes/yr) with a declining permitted amount over the following years. * emissions in excess of the permitted amount cost the firm a fee (say $10/tonne) Assume the company can either pay the fine or put in pollution control equipment which would remove GHGs at a cost of more than $10/tonne. What is supposed to happen next is that another firm which will be below its permitted emission rate will step up and sell the "hole" for $8/tonne, making money for themselves and saving the first company $2/tonne. Alternately if the first company can put in a GHG control system at the second company for less than one at their own plant site they will do that and claim the reduction for themselves. What I have seen happen is that, since this activity looks more like commodity trading than pollution control, the company's trading staff get involved instead of the environmentalists and engineers. You soon have a futures' market in GHGs - big bucks to be made by all. Except the purpose of the program is to reduce GHGs not play with them. Furthermore all nations need to "play" to make the system work. China and India for their own economic interests, especially in the current worldwide collapse, have indicated they will not participate. This directly increases their economic competitiveness relative to any nation that participates in this system and will cause migration of jobs and production to non cap-and-trade nations. In addition the costs of administrating and monitoring this international bureaucracy would have to be substantial and would be unwieldy.
Why are green house gases are bad?
Because Green House Gases (Methane, CO2, H20 etc) trap heat and maintain the heat. So when the infared rays are emitted from the sun, instead of bouncing off the surface of the earth and out to space they are trapped in the molecules of the various GHGs heating the atmosphere and the earth's climate leading to any variety of eco-logical collapses.
Why have greenhouse gases increased so much in the past 100 years?
There have been a lot of upward trends in the past 100 years - population, industrialization, use of motor vehicles - each of thee contributes to GHG emissions, particularly carbon dioxide. In addition, the deforestation of many areas of the world either through logging, climate shifts or the increasing need for agricultural land has reduced the ability of the eco-system to absorb carbon dioxide. Still in the carbon dioxide sequestration area, changing farming practices have reduced the amount of carbon retained in the soil. Even more, the thawing of much of the permafrost in North America and Europe/Asia has liberated methane, a potent GHG with 21 times the impact of carbon dioxide. Then again there are new GHGs which were not even thought of 100 years ago - substances like CFCs and SF6 - which are very potent GHGs.
