"In the end, we conserve only what we love.
We will love only what we understand.
We will understand only what we are taught."
~ Baba Dioum, Senegalese poet
~ Baba Dioum, Senegalese poet
MAIN GREENHOUSE GASES
The tables below present characteristics of major greenhouse gases. The Global Warming Potential (GWP) indicates the warming effect of a greenhouse gas, while the atmospheric lifetime expresses the total effect of a specific greenhouse gas after taking into account global sink availability. The lifetime indicates how long the gas remains in the atmosphere and increased radiative forcing quantifies the contribution to additional heating over an area. The vast majority of emissions are carbon dioxide followed by methane and nitrous oxide. Lesser amounts of CFC-12, HCFC-22, Perflouroethane and Sulfur Hexaflouride are also emitted and their contribution to global warming is magnified by their high GWP, although there total contribution is still small compared to the other gasses.
Greenhouse Gas | Chemical Formula | Anthropogenic Sources | Atmospheric Lifetime1(years) | GWP2 (100 Year Time Horizon) |
Carbon Dioxide | CO2 | Fossil-fuel combustion, Land-use conversion, Cement Production | ~1001 | 1 |
Methane | CH4 | Fossil fuels, Rice paddies, Waste dumps | 121 | 25 |
Nitrous Oxide | N2O | Fertilizer, Industrial processes, Combustion | 1141 | 298 |
| Tropospheric Ozone | O3 | Fossil fuel combustion, Industrial emissions, Chemical solvents | hours-days | N.A. |
CFC-12 | CCL2F2 | Liquid coolants, Foams | 100 | 10,900 |
HCFC-22 | CCl2F2 | Refrigerants | 12 | 1,810 |
Sulfur Hexaflouride | SF6 | Dielectric fluid | 3,200 | 22,800 |
Carbon Dioxide | 280,0005 | 388,5006 |
Methane | 7007 | 1,870 / 1,7488 |
Nitrous Oxide | 2709 | 323 / 3228 |
| Tropospheric Ozone | 25 | 34 |
CFC-12 | 0 | .534 / .5328 |
HCFC-22 | 0 | .218 / .19410 |
Sulfur Hexaflouride | 0 |
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