What is called the additional greenhouse effect comes from human activities which lead to an increase in the concentration of the famous greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This explosive cocktail is one of the factors of global warming. On the dock, the formidable carbon dioxide (CO2) but it is not alone …
We often hear about greenhouse gas because they are responsible for what is called the additional greenhouse effect, as I explain here. But what are these greenhouse gases? It is important to know exactly what we are talking about.
A devastating cocktail
That’s why I prepared the recipe for the greenhouse gas cocktail.
For a tasty cocktail, choose exceptional ingredients. Here are the most essential:
- H₂O (water vapor)
- CO₂ (carbon dioxide or carbon dioxide)
- CH4 (methane)
- N₂O (nitrogen protoxides)
Take a spoonful of fine methane, a pinch of fresh CO2, a drop of H2O, and a hint of N2O. Mix! Here is your cocktail is ready!
What are greenhouse gases?
As in any good recipe that respects itself, we will be interested in the origin of our ingredients, the greenhouse gases:
- the carbon dioxide (CO2) is emitted during the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas. That I think everyone is more and more aware of!
- the methane (CH4) is mainly emitted by rice fields and the digestion of cattle. Our friends the cows have in one of their 4 stomachs (the rumen) bacteria that break down cellulose: a solid plant fiber. This natural fermentation produces methane which is emitted in their belching (and no in their gas, as we often hear). The greenhouse effect of methane is approximately 30 times more powerful than that of carbon dioxide.
- the nitrous oxide (N2O) is emitted by the use of nitrogen fertilizers in conventional agriculture (these fertilizers are not used in organic farming). The general public knows him well under the name of ” laughing gas »Because it is commonly used in culinary products for its propellant function (whipped cream siphons) and for its anesthetic properties in the hospital environment.
- Content water vapour (H2O) of the atmosphere does not depend on human activities but rather on the classical balance between the gaseous and liquid forms of water.
What happens after the gases are emitted?
Okay, now that we have prepared a good cocktail, we have to understand how we taste it.
The CO2 that is emitted goes into the atmosphere, but not only. Half of the CO2 emitted remains in the atmosphere but the other half is absorbed by what are called carbon sinks.
What are carbon sinks?
- Plants : With photosynthesis, plants absorb CO2 for their growth.
It is therefore mainly the growing plants which absorb CO2. A forest with mature trees does not absorb that much (but that has other advantages I am not saying that we can do without mature forests!). - The oceans : CO2 is absorbed by the oceans in which it will dissolve.
Read also:
The greenhouse effect is good for the planet
Acting for the environment takes time …
Now that we have better understood what greenhouse gases are and what they become, I propose, in the next article, to analyze in more detail and in figures the emissions of these gases by human activities.
