Water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and hydrofluorocarbons are greenhouse gases that occur naturally and from human activities. (EIA) estimates that the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted in the United States in 2012 was about 1.1 billion metric tons, or about 0.9 percent of the nation’s total energy consumption. EIA also estimated that in 2013, the amount emitted would be about 2.2 billion tons.
These estimates are based on data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Energy (DOE), and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). DOE are responsible for regulating greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, which are the largest source of these emissions. In 2012, power plant emissions accounted for more than one-third of all greenhouse-gas emissions, according to the EPA’s National Inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks (NIHGES), which is the most recent data available for the year.
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What are the 5 main greenhouse gases?
It is produced by all living things, including plants and animals, as well as by human activity. For more information, see Carbon Dioxide and Global Warming. (N2O) are two other greenhouse gases that are produced when fossil fuel combustion is combined with water.
What are the 6 main greenhouse gases?
(CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and the so-called F-gases(hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons) and ozone-depleting substances are included in the Kyoto basket. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions must be reduced by at least 80% below 1990 levels by the year 2050. However, it is not yet clear how much progress has been made in meeting this target.
According to a recent report from the International Energy Agency (IEA), the world is on track to meet the target, but the pace of reduction has slowed down in recent years.
How many greenhouse gases are there?
Of the ten primary ghgs, water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are all naturally occurring. GHGs are produced by the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, as well as the combustion of biomass (such as wood and biomass-based biofuels) and waste products (e.g., solid waste, sewage sludge, agricultural residues, etc.).
The primary sources of GHG emissions are fossil-fuel combustion, land-use change, deforestation, ocean acidification, air and water pollution, waste management and disposal, industrial processes, urbanization and population growth. (IPCC) estimates that by 2050, the world’s population is expected to increase to 9.6 billion people, up from 7.1 billion in 2010.
Which are the two major greenhouse gases?
Major greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and synthetic chemicals. Carbon dioxide is the most important greenhouse gas because it accounts for the greatest portion of the warming since the mid-20th century. Methane is the second-most important, accounting for about one-third of global warming. Nitrous oxides are the third-largest contributor to warming, followed by carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide.
Synthetic chemicals, such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), account for less than 1 percent of total greenhouse-gas emissions, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). States, emissions from the transportation sector are responsible for more than half of U.S. GHG emissions.
The largest single source of these emissions is passenger vehicles, which accounted for nearly half (47 percent) of all passenger-vehicle emissions in 2012. In addition to passenger cars and light trucks, the largest sources of passenger vehicle emissions are buses, light-duty trucks and vans, vans and sport utility vehicles (SUVs), and motorcycles.
Is water a greenhouse gas?
Water vapor is Earth’s most abundant greenhouse gas. “This is the first time we’ve been able to quantify the amount of CO2 that’s coming out of these volcanic eruptions, and we’re finding that it’s much higher than we thought.” A volcano erupts.
Why co2 is called greenhouse gas?
For example, the amount of sunlight that falls on Earth varies from year to year, depending on the time of year and the location. This variation in sunlight causes the planet to warm and cool over time, which in turn affects how much heat is absorbed by the oceans and land.
The oceans absorb more heat from the sun than land does, so the ocean is warming faster than the land is cooling. As a result, sea levels are rising and are expected to continue to rise for centuries to come.
