The greenhouse effect is currently one of the most popular debate topics among not only environmentalists, but also the general public. It is also mainly discussed in several school curriculums such as biology, ESS, and geography. They are produced mainly by three producers: the United States, China, and the European nations. These gases are carried across the oceans and reach the rest of the world. Today we will discover more about greenhouse gases, which are the causes of the greenhouse effect.
The two greenhouse gases with the most effect are carbon dioxide and water vapour. Yet it is important to not that methane and nitrogen oxides are also powerful greenhouse gases. They are insulating layers of Earth, similar to how glass maintains heat inside a greenhouse. Earth is often described as a closed system because not much escapes the planet’s atmosphere and gravity. Therefore although there is a limited amount of greenhouse gases, Earth never runs out of them since they are recycled as part of a ‘cycle.’ To be more specific, carbon dioxide is part of the carbon cycle and water is part of the water cycle.
Carbon dioxide is released by autotrophs and heterotrophs during respiration and through biomass and fossil fuel combustion. It is taken out of the atmosphere as they dissolve in oceans or photosynthesize. Water vapour forms through evaporation from bodies of water such as lakes and rivers. It is added to the atmosphere through natural precipitation such as rain, snow, and hail. The main function of greenhouse gases is to absorb longwave or infrared radiation. It is an interesting fact that all greenhouse gases combined compose less than 1 percent of the planet’s atmosphere.
Meanwhile, there are other greenhouse gases that absorb long-wave radiation like methane and nitrous oxides. While methane is much less abundant in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, it can trap 20 times more heat than the same amount of carbon dioxide. Thus, it can be deduced that methane leads to faster warming of Earth. Methane is added naturally while it escapes from permafrost, tundra, marshes, and landfill. Sometimes it is emitted by cattle and the extraction of fossil fuels. Nitrous oxides are produced by bacteria and emitted by car engines. It can also be produced by lightning.
When carbon dioxide emissions are compared, a unit called the carbon dioxide equivalent is used. It is a term for explaining different greenhouse gases in one unit.
Works Cited
“Greenhouse Gases.” American Chemical Society, http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/climatescience/greenhousegases.html.
The Science Herald 
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