Creation wrapped us in a blanket to keep us just warm enough. Earths greenhouse blanket lets out most of the solar radiation. Without this, all life here would surely die. Scientists know our carbon releases are thickening this blanket so more heat traps. Unfortunately, this has become a political football where voters cheer from the stands without understanding.
The Gases in Earth’s Greenhouse Blanket Causing Most Harm
Certain gases have greater effect than others because they remain semi-permanently in the atmosphere. These are water vapor (H2O), nitrous oxide (N2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4).
Water vapor is abundant, but this is to our advantage because it acts as feedback to the climate. It increases as Earth’s atmosphere warms, as do the possibility of cooling clouds and rain. Carbon dioxide, on the other hand is forcing climate change in the wrong direction. Natural respiration and volcanoes have always caused it. However, since the industrial revolution human activity became a game changer.
Methane is a more active component of Earths greenhouse blanket than carbon dioxide. Again human activity is the cause in the form of decomposing waste, factory farming, and agriculture. Moreover, melting tundra flats are releasing more from ancient storages.
Nitrous oxide is another potent greenhouse gas, this time contributed by fertilizers and combusting fossil fuels. It is also a byproduct of biomass burning and producing nitric acid. So again, this is something we could control. Humankind had great success with largely eliminating chlorofluorocarbons in the 1980’s and the 1990’s. Therefore, we have capacity to take it the next climate change step.
Why So Little Success with Greenhouse Gases Then?
Social scientists believe the chlorofluorocarbon campaign succeeded because people understood the problem and pressured industry to change. However, the consumer products they used continued to behave as expected. Eliminating greenhouses requires a massive paradigm shift, and a change to almost all aspects of our lives.
Moreover, many people still do not understand what nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, and methane are. We wrote this post to try to change this reality through the power of our blog. Please share this with your social media friends, if you believe in cherishing Earths greenhouse blanket for the future of generations to come.
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Preview Image: A Blanket Around the Earth
