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Greenhouse Gases
Encyclopedia of Environment and Society, Vol. 2, 2007.
REGULATION OF GREENHOUSE GASES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
THE EARTH SURFACE absorbs energy from the sun and radiates it back into the atmosphere. So-called greenhouse gases are gases that, when present in the atmosphere,
form a layer of insulation that traps the earth’s outgoing heat. This causes the earth’s overall temperature to become warm, a phenomenon originally known as the greenhouse
effect, now more frequently called global warming or global climate change. The latter is a broader term that includes other atmospheric changes besides the greenhouse effect.
Principal greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), ozone (O3), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), Nitrous oxides (N2O) and sulfur hexaflouride (SF6).
While greenhouse gases are entering the atmosphere from both natural and human origins (the latter known as anthropogenic), the increase in human origins of such gases is
most significant, and is thus driving the overall change in climate.
Atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases has increased over the last century due to industrial and agricultural activity. The most significant greenhouse gas by volume is
carbon dioxide. This is released into the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, and coal) in vehicle exhaust, coal fired power plants, and industry.
Similarly, methane concentrations have increased as a result of the production and transportation of fossil fuels, rice paddy farming, livestock production, and emissions from
municipal solid waste landfills. Nitrous oxide is released from agricultural and industrial activities, and the combustion of both fossil fuels and solid waste.
Each greenhouse gas has a different per-molecule capacity for heat absorption. Methane traps over 21 times more heat per molecule than carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide
absorbs 270 times more heat per molecule than carbon dioxide. CFCs are also more powerful than carbon dioxide, however, emissions of CFCs have decreased significantly
since the Montreal Protocol. There is significant public confusion between greenhouse gases that contribute to global climate change and gases that contribute to ozone
depletion. This confusion is magnified by the fact that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) contribute to both ozone depletion and climate change.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A. Agarwal, S. Narain, et al., The Global Commons and Environmental Justice-Climate Change. Environmental Justice (Transaction Publishers, 2002); Bruce Johansen, The
Global Warming Desk Reference (Greenwood Press, 2002); L. Pinguelli-Rosa and M. Munashinghe, eds., Ethics, Equity and International Negotiations on Climate
http://find.galegroup.com/grnr/printdoc.do?sort=&docType=EBKS.Article&c=&docLevel=&isDocPrintTool=true&prodId=GRNR&tabID=T001&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchId=¤tPosition=0&relatedDocId=&pageIndex=0&retrieveFormat=&isI
Change(Edward Elgar, 2002); S. Raynor, E. L. Malone, et al., Equity Issues and Integrated Assessment. Fair Weather? Equity Concerns in Climate Change (Earthscan
Publications, 1999); D. Victor, The Regulation of Greenhouse Gases: Does Fairness Matter? Fair Weather? Equity Concerns in Climate Change (Earthscan Publications,
1999).
KARI MARIE NORGAARD
WHITMAN COLLEGE
COPYRIGHT 2007 SAGE Publications, Inc.
Source Citation:
"Greenhouse Gases." Encyclopedia of Environment and Society. Ed. Paul Robbins. Vol. 2. Los Angeles: Sage Publications Inc., 2007. 824-825. Global Reference on the
Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources. Web. 21 May 2018.
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