Greenhouse gases: what they are, what they are and effects

When it comes to global warming and climate change, are often referred to serra gas. But what is it exactly? What are they and what are greenhouse gases produced by man and those which, on the contrary, have a natural origin? This term indicates those gases present in the atmosphere that allow sunlight to pass through, but prevent heat from leaving the atmosphere.

Concretely speaking, these are gases that allow retain thermal energy from the sun in the atmosphere, thus ensuring the achievement of a warmer temperature than it would otherwise be, such as to favor the development of life on our planet.

What are greenhouse gases and what are them in a nutshell?

Greenhouse gases are gases present in the atmosphere, which allow the heat radiated by the sun to be trapped, maintaining the earth temperaturethanks to a process known as the “greenhouse effect“.

Without this mechanism, from an average of 14-15°Ctemperatures on Earth would drop to around -18°C. Which would mean that the environment would be completely inhospitable to the development of life as we know it.

As is easy to imagine, the greater the concentration of these gases in the atmosphere, the more intense the greenhouse effect will be on our planet, with a consequent increase in earth temperatures (the famous phenomenon of “global warming“).

What are greenhouse gases?

When we talk about greenhouse gases, we tend to think that they are all harmful, dangerous for the planet and all created by man. In reality, things are not exactly like that.

There are, in fact, gods natural greenhouse gases such as water vapour, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and ozone (O3), which are formed in a natural way, but the whose atmospheric concentration tends to increase due to human activities.

There are also greenhouse gases that originate exclusively from human activities (called “anthropic”). In addition to CO2 (both natural and anthropogenic greenhouse gas), other greenhouse gases produced by man are reported, such as industrial fluorinated products: sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) e perfluorocarbons (PFC).

How do humans produce greenhouse gases?

Since the advent of Industrial revolutionman has profoundly upset the natural balance of our planet, increasingly altering the levels of greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere.

But what are they actually? causes of greenhouse gases produced by man? The largest production of saw CO2 gas (mainly responsible for global warming) is due to the use of fossil fuels (gas, oil and coal), but also to other activities, such as burning forests, waste or other materials.

The burning and transportation of coal and fossil fuels, livestock farming, the progressive large-scale destruction of forests, intensive cultivation and industrial activities, the use of fertilizers commercial, the biomass combustion they are all activities at the origin of the production of methane gas (considered the second most important and widespread greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, after CO2), hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and other greenhouse gases harmful to our planet.

The consequences of the increase in the greenhouse effect

For several decades now, we have been talking about global warming, a rapidly progressing phenomenon which is altering the balance of our planet. This process is determined precisely by the accumulation of ever-increasing percentages of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and is at the origin of the environmental disasters that are occurring with ever-increasing frequency in every part of the globe.

Floods, heat waves, desertification and extreme weather events, melting glaciers, rising sea levels, are just some of the consequences of the greenhouse effect.

It is for this reason that we need to act as soon as possible, adopting sustainable strategies both in our own small way and as countries, to slow down and curb climate change and protect our home.

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