Gas emissions and the greenhouse effect used to be a conversation that was reserved for environmentalists and the politicians that they lobbied. Now, however, with the recent support of Hollywood to popularize its cause, the word about automotive pollution and other greenhouse gasses has reached the ears of the masses. It is now common place to hear discussions about global warming and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the midst of people's everyday conversations. Even political and religious groups who used to think that the talk about emissions was political hype have started to realize that this is a serious matter that needs to be addressed as soon as possible.
The first question that is especially relevant today concerning gas emissions is where do they actually come from? Reducing greenhouse emissions won't be possible until we actually learn what, specifically, we are doing to case them in the first place. Take methane emissions, for instance. To put it simply, methane is produced by the breakdown of organic waste matter-such as the fermentation of feces or the rotting of flesh. It is also present in natural gas fields, from which it is mined for use in fuels. And yes, it is also produced in great quantities by the belching of cattle. But there are other greenhouse gases as well.
We cannot eliminate greenhouse gases from the planet. We actually produce them every time we exhale. We do however, need to reduce them. The key is to keep the greenhouse gas emissions at a level where the plant life on earth is able to process them and create oxygen. It is a symbiotic relationship that has been thrown off because of all the extra greenhouse gases that we create. The fact that we are cutting down rainforests faster than we can re-grow them doesn't help us maintain this balance.
But gas emissions come from such varied places, that there may be other things we can do. For instance, methane is also made by producing and transporting coal, natural gas and oil. Additional carbon dioxide is produced when wood, solid waste and fossil fuels are burned. Besides carbon dioxide and methane, there are other natural greenhouse gases filling our atmosphere: water vapor, nitrous oxide. However, there are some powerful greenhouse gases that are not naturally occurring. Those include sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and chlorofluorocarbons.
As we begin to see physical evidence of the global warming that is a result of methane gas emissions and other greenhouse gases, people are finally starting to take positive steps. Education has been the biggest problem, and the willingness of public figures to use their influence to get the word out has played a key role in this shift. Most people just don't understand how important it is to continue reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It's not that they don't care, it's just that they have so many problems in their day to day lives already that they don't see how driving their car to the supermarket is causing anyone any harm.
Tags: Carbon Dioxide Emissions Methane Greenhouse Gas Global Warming
