CO2 Pollution and Global Warming
Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of one Carbon and two oxygen atoms and is known as co2. Carbon dioxide was one of the first gases to be described as a substance distinct from air and is present in a low concentration in the Earth's atmosphere. But when does Carbon dioxide become a pollutant? CO2 emissions are increasing faster than expected and Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels have accelerated globally at a far greater rate than expected over recent years.
Atmosphere
Carbon Synthesis:The ocean plays an important role in regulating the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere and in regulating climate variability and the impact that humans have on the global environment. Currently, burning fossil fuels emits just over 7 billion tonnes of CO2 (GtC) into the atmosphere each year. The Southern Ocean has been absorbing less CO2 from the atmosphere since 1981, even though levels have increased 40 percent due to the burning of fossil fuels. Greenhouse gases have also changed the temperature structure of the atmosphere, and climate models show that these changes also strengthen the westerly winds over the Southern Ocean. As the surface becomes more saturated with CO2, it absorbs less and less from the atmosphere and once in the atmosphere, most of the Carbon dioxide stays there For 50 to 200 years, and some of it stays there indefinitely.
Carbon
Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels, the principal driver of climate change, have accelerated globally at a far greater rate than expected over recent years according to a paper recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Cars
Cars are an important part of the everyday lives of a large number of Europeans however Cars account For 10% of total European emissions of Carbon dioxide (CO2) the principal greenhouse gas responsible For global warming. Nearly a quarter of all Car journeys are less than 2 miles and Cars consume most fuel at the start of their journey when the engine is cold. As a measure to try and reduce the amount of Cars entering central London uk a congestion charge was brought about and in one year a 38-percent drop in private Cars entering London was recorded whichwas twice the anticipated figure.
Countries
A study found that in 2004, emissions from developing economies made up 73 per cent of the global growth in emissions ― largely due to moving energy-intensive activities from developed to developing countries. As countries undergo industrial development, they move through a period of intensive, and often inefficient, use of fossil fuel. The United States, the world's top Carbon dioxide emitter, in 2001 pulled out of the pact that requires developing countries to cut emissions by an average of 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.
Greenhouse
How much CO2 and other greenhouse gasses (CO2e) do your activities create. Cities are responsible For three-quarters of the world's energy consumption as well as about 80 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming and play a critical role in the reversal of dangerous climate change. There is strong evidence that human emissions of greenhouse gases are changing the world's climate. We know that CO2 is a greenhouse gas because it absorbs and emits certain frequencies of infrared radiation. What is more, CO2 is just one of several greenhouses gases, and greenhouse gases are just one of many factors affecting the climate. Models suggest that rising greenhouse gases, including CO2, explains about 40% of the warming as the ice ages ended.
Conclusion
Are you ready to act on CO2. This latest period of warming is largely caUsed by the accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere. Today, CO2 levels are higher than at any time in at least the past 650,000 years because of increased fossil fuel burning. The future of the world is in the hands of each and everyone of us and it is up to every individual to make their contribution to reducing co2 and reducing their own Carbon footprint.
Copyright 2007 Terry Till
More inFormation about co2 emissions and why they need to be reduced to help save the planet:
http://www.Carco2.com
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