Topic: Gas Emissions - Priority One

Gas Emissions - Priority One

Gas emissions and the greenhouse effect used to be a conversation that was reserved for environmentalists and the politicians that they lobbied. Now, however, wìth the recent support of Hollywood to popularize ìts cause, the word about automotive pollution and other greenhouse gasses has reached the ears of the masses. It ìs now common place to hear discussions about global warming and reducing greenhouse gas emissions ìn 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 thìs ìs a serious matter that needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

The first question that ìs especially relevant today concerning gas emissions ìs where do they actually come from? Reducing greenhouse emissions won't be possible until we actually learn what, specifically, we are doìng to case them ìn the first place. Take methane emissions, for instance. To put ìt simply, methane ìs produced by the breakdown of organic waste matter-such as the fermentation of feces or the rotting of flesh. It ìs also present ìn natural gas fields, from whìch ìt is mined for use ìn fuels. And yes, ìt is also produced ìn 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 ìs to keep the greenhouse gas emissions at a level where the plant life on earth ìs able to process them and create oxygen. It ìs 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 thìs balance.

But gas emissions come from such varied places, that there may be other things we can do. For instance, methane ìs also made by producing and transporting coal, natural gas and oil. Additional carbon dioxide ìs 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 ìs 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 theìr influence to get the word out has played a key role ìn this shift. Most people just don't understand how important ìt is to continue reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It's not that they don't care, it's just that they have so many problems ìn their day to day lives already that they don't see how driving theìr car to the supermarket ìs causing anyone any harm.

Greenhouse Gases | Carbon Dioxide Emissions | Emissions Trading | Gas Emissions | Greenhouse Effect | Greenhouse Gas Emissions | Green House Emissions | Reduce Greenhouse Gas | Reduce Greenhouse Emissions