Greenhouse gas

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Greenhouse gases are gases in an atmosphere that absorb and emit radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. Common greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. In our solar system, the atmospheres of Venus, Mars and Titan also contain gases that cause greenhouse effects. Greenhouse gases greatly affect the temperature of the Earth; without them, Earth's surface would be on average about 33°C (59°F) colder than at present.

Human activities since the start of the industrial era around 1750 have increased the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The 2007 assessment report compiled by the IPCC observed that "changes in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases and aerosols, land cover and solar radiation alter the energy balance of the climate system", and concluded that "increases in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations is very likely to have caused most of the increases in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century".

For more information about Greenhouse gas, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with greenhouse gas emissions

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A farmer droving his sheep, northwest of Melbourne

Australian scientists aim to reduce sheep burps

Biology / Biotechnology

created Nov 29, 2009 | popularity 2.2 / 5 (6) | comments 9

Australian scientists are working to breed a sheep that belches less, as they look for ways to reduce harmful methane emissions from the country's woolly flocks, a researcher said Sunday.


Cutting greenhouse pollutants could directly save millions of lives worldwide

Space & Earth / Environment

created Nov 25, 2009 | popularity 2.1 / 5 (14) | comments 6

Tackling climate change by reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse emissions will have major direct health benefits in addition to reducing the risk of climate change, especially in low-income countries, according to ...


UN: Fight climate change with free condoms (AP)

UN: Fight climate change with free condoms

Space & Earth / Environment

created Nov 18, 2009 | popularity 2.9 / 5 (12) | comments 38

(AP) -- The battle against global warming could be helped if the world slowed population growth by making free condoms and family planning advice more widely available, the U.N. Population Fund said Wednesday.


Glimpsing a greener future

Glimpsing a greener future: Computer model foresees effects of alternative transportation fuels

Space & Earth / Environment

created Nov 16, 2009 | popularity 2.5 / 5 (4) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- It's the year 2060, and 75 percent of drivers in the Greater Los Angeles area have hydrogen fuel cell vehicles that emit only water vapor.


Does carbon labelling give developing countries a bad deal?

Space & Earth / Environment

created Nov 24, 2009 | popularity 1 / 5 (2) | comments 1

Carbon labelling could unfairly disadvantage economies in the developing world, and mislead consumers, according to an interdisciplinary project carried out by the UK Research Councils' Rural Economy and Land Use Programme. ...


Energy savings in black and white

Color-changing roof tiles absorb heat in winter, reflect it in summer

Technology / Engineering

created Oct 08, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (19) | comments 9

(PhysOrg.com) -- Anyone who has ever stepped barefoot onto blacktop pavement on a hot sunny day knows the phenomenon very well: Black surfaces absorb the sun's heat very efficiently, producing a toe-scorching ...


North America automobile sector bottom of 'world sustainability league'

Other Sciences / Economics

created Oct 30, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (5) | comments 1

North American car manufacturers have come bottom of the league in the largest ever international study of the global automobile sector's sustainability performance.


Arctic at warmest levels in 2,000 years or more

Arctic at warmest levels in 2,000 years or more

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Sep 03, 2009 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (64) | comments 25

Arctic temperatures in the 1990s reached their warmest level of any decade in at least 2,000 years, new research indicates. The study, which incorporates geologic records and computer simulations, provides ...


Germany calls for binding climate deal in 2010

Space & Earth / Environment

created Nov 19, 2009 | popularity 2.3 / 5 (3) | comments 2

(AP) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Thursday for all countries to fix binding climate change targets next year at the latest, acknowledging that no such deal is likely at global talks in Copenhagen next month.


Reducing greenhouse gases may not be enough to slow climate change

Space & Earth / Environment

created Nov 11, 2009 | popularity 3.3 / 5 (11) | comments 6

Georgia Tech City and Regional Planning Professor Brian Stone publishes a paper in the December edition of Environmental Science and Technology that suggests policymakers need to address the influence of global deforestation ...


Simple measures can yield big greenhouse gas cuts, scientists say

Space & Earth / Environment

created Oct 26, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (7) | comments 2

New technologies and policies that save energy, remove atmospheric carbon and limit greenhouse gas emissions are needed to fight global climate change - but face daunting technological, economic and political hurdles, a Michigan ...


Engineer devises ways to improve gas mileage

Technology / Engineering

created Mar 16, 2009 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (11) | comments 4

(PhysOrg.com) -- Last summer, it was very expensive to fill up a gas tank when the gasoline price hit close to four dollars a gallon. Transportation by road or air consumes fuel, which not only increases our vulnerability ...


The sun is a star when it comes to sustainable energy

The sun is a star when it comes to sustainable energy

Technology / Energy

created Feb 25, 2009 | popularity 4.2 / 5 (25) | comments 56

At a national scientific meeting last week where biofuels - principally ethanol - were uniformly trashed as an environmental train wreck, one bright, carbon-free light gleamed in our energy future: the sun.


Studying Fertilizers to Cut Greenhouse Gases

Studying Fertilizers to Cut Greenhouse Gases

Biology / Ecology

created Nov 18, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have found that using alternative types of fertilizers can cut back on greenhouse gas emissions, at least in one part of the country. They are ...


New York residents walk on the sidewalk  in Manahattan in New York

Path to good health, less pollution is the sidewalk: report

Medicine & Health / Health

created Nov 09, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

US pressure groups joined forces Monday to urge authorities to spend more to improve Americans' health and cut greenhouse gas emissions.