Related topics: climate change
Greenhouse gas
hideGreenhouse 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.
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News tagged with greenhouse gases
Japan launches 5th spy satellite
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 28, 2009 |
3.6 / 5 (9) |
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(AP) -- Japan launched its fifth spy satellite into orbit Saturday in a bid to boost its ability to independently gather intelligence, the government said.
Arctic sea ice reaches minimum extent for 2009, third lowest ever recorded
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Sep 17, 2009 |
2.8 / 5 (8) |
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The Arctic sea ice cover appears to have reached its minimum extent for the year, the third-lowest recorded since satellites began measuring sea ice extent in 1979, according to the University of Colorado at Boulder's National ...
Study shows strong evidence that cloud changes may exacerbate global warming
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Jul 23, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (56) |
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The role of clouds in climate change has been a major question for decades. As the earth warms under increasing greenhouse gases, it is not known whether clouds will dissipate, letting in more of the sun's ...
Britain launches renewables drive to cut emissions
Jul 15, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (34) |
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Britain announced plans Wednesday to slash emissions with a huge increase in the use of renewable energy to generate one third of the country's electricity needs by 2020.
New method may help allocate carbon emissions responsibility among nations
Jul 06, 2009 |
3.4 / 5 (16) |
8
Just months before world leaders are scheduled to meet to devise a new international treaty on climate change, a research team led by Princeton University scientists has developed a new way of dividing responsibility ...
Earth's most prominent rainfall feature creeping northward
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Jul 01, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (12) |
3
The rain band near the equator that determines the supply of freshwater to nearly a billion people throughout the tropics and subtropics has been creeping north for more than 300 years, probably because of ...
THE INFLUENCE GAME: Excuse me! Lobby wins on burps
Jun 20, 2009 |
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(AP) -- One contributor to global warming - bigger than coal mines, landfills and sewage treatment plants - is being left out of efforts by the Obama administration and House Democrats to limit greenhouse ...
Jatropha Helps Air New Zealand Cut Its CO2 Emissions by More Than 60%
Jun 17, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (14) |
14
Recently, Air New Zealand ran a test flight of a jet plane fueled with a biofuel blend made with jatropha. The results showed a fuel savings of 1.2%, amounting to more than a ton of fuel over the course of ...
Engineers unveil new lighting solutions
Jun 09, 2009 |
3.5 / 5 (8) |
5
A study by Carnegie Mellon University researchers argues that new lighting technologies can be a key player in the portfolio of strategies needed to promote energy efficiency and to help reduce the emission of greenhouse ...
GOP attacks Democrats for climate proposal
May 30, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Republicans on Saturday attacked the climate change proposal crafted by congressional Democrats and endorsed by President Barrack Obama as doing little to reduce global warming while saddling Americans ...
All the carbon counts
May 28, 2009 |
2 / 5 (4) |
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Cutting down forests for agriculture vents excess carbon dioxide into the air just as industrial activities and the burning of fossil fuels do. But whether policies to stabilize greenhouse gases in the atmosphere ...
Racing the clock: Rapid climate change forces scientists to evaluate extreme conservation strategies
May 25, 2009 |
4.1 / 5 (76) |
8
Scientists are, for the first time, objectively evaluating ways to help species adapt to rapid climate change and other environmental threats via strategies that were considered too radical for serious consideration as recently ...
China: rich nations must cut emissions by 40 pct
May 22, 2009 |
2.4 / 5 (8) |
9
(AP) -- Wealthy nations, as history's biggest polluters, should cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2020, China says in a policy document on climate change. The government also rolled out fresh ...
Obama to unveil dramatic new auto emissions standards
May 19, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (57) |
16
A new front in the battle against climate change will open Tuesday, when President Barack Obama unveils sweeping new auto regulations described as equivalent to taking 177 million cars off the road.
IEA urges more energy-efficient gadgets
Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets
May 13, 2009 |
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The IEA world energy watchdog urged action on Wednesday to make computers, mobile phones and other devices more energy-efficient as the number of users worldwide soars.
