GROUP 1: WATER VAPOR

Water vapor is the most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, both by
weight and by volume. Water vapor is also an effective greenhouse gas, as it does
absorb long wave radiation and radiates it back to the surface, thus contributing to
warming.
When compared to other greenhouse gases, water vapor stays in the
atmosphere for a much shorter period of time. Water vapor will generally stay in the
atmosphere for days (before precipitating out) while other greenhouse gases, such as
carbon dioxide or methane, will stay in the atmosphere for a much longer period of time
(ranging from years to centuries) thus contributing to warming for an extended period of
time.
The addition of water vapor to the atmosphere, for the most part, cannot be
directly attributed to human generated activities. Increased water vapor content in the
atmosphere is referred to as a feedback process. Warmer air is able to hold more
moisture. As the climate warms, air temperatures rise, more evaporation from water
sources and land occurs, thus increasing the atmospheric moisture content. The
increase in water vapor in the atmosphere, because water vapor is an effective
greenhouse gas, thus contributes to even more warming: it enhances the greenhouse
effect.
Water vapor is often discussed and recognized as being an important part of the
global warming process. The water vapor feedback process is most likely responsible
for a doubling of the greenhouse effect when compared to the addition of carbon dioxide
on its own.
GROUP 2: Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a gas consisting of one part carbon and two parts oxygen. It is one of
the most important gases on the earth because plants use it to produce carbohydrates
in a process called photosynthesis. Since humans and animals depend on plants for
food, photosynthesis is necessary for the survival of life on earth. However, CO2 can
also have negative effects. As CO2 builds up in our atmosphere it has a warming effect
that could change the earth’s climate. Indoors, CO2 levels easily rise above the
recommended amount which has adverse effects.

Carbon dioxide is present in the highest concentration among all the greenhouse gases
(GHGs). And thus, it has the highest radiative forcing among all the GHGs, which simply
means that carbon dioxide has had the highest influence on global warming as
compared to all the other GHGs. Another reason for prominence of carbn dioxed is the
relative stability of this gas in the atmosphere. Unlike other GHGs, arbon dioxide stays
in the atmosphere for a very long time. Due to these two major reasons, carbon dioxide
is the highest GHG.

The increase in atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide is mostly due to

consumption of fossil fuels (such as coal, petroleum and natural gas) and deforestation.
Fossil fuels have powered the growth of industry and deforestation has been necessary
to make more land available for agriculture or habitation.
GROUP 3: METHANE

Methane is colorless, odorless gas has huge potential as a fuel, but it also poses
a major threat to the climate. Methane is a greenhouse gas, and is produced by cows
and landfill sites. Methane from farms and landfill can be used as a fuel for cooking and
heating, and to generate electricity.

Cows and other farm animals produce methane, and so does landfill waste.
Methane also escapes into the air when coal, oil and natural gas are extracted from the
Earth. Humans put more and more methane into the air every year. This is not good
news for climate change: methane is a greenhouse gas, so we need to put less of it into
the air to slow down global warming.

Some farmers collect methane gas from animal waste. The methane can be
pumped into the mains gas system, where it goes to houses for cooking and heating.

Some methane from animal and landfill waste is used to heat water to make
steam; this steam drives turbines and generates electricity. If we keep using waste to
generate electricity, we will be able to use fewer fossil fuels, which are bad for the
environment.
Natural gas, which primarily consists of methane, is the cleanest burning fossil
fuel. When methane is produced from non-fossil sources such as food and green waste,
it can literally take carbon out of the air. Methane provides a great environmental
benefit, producing more heat and light energy by mass than other hydrocarbon, or fossil
fuel, including coal and gasoline refined from oil, while producing significantly less
carbon dioxide and other pollutants that contribute to smog and unhealthy air. This
means the more natural gas is used, in place of coal, to generate electricity or instead of
gasoline to fuel cars, trucks and buses, the less greenhouse gas emissions and smog
related pollutants are produced. However, methane that is released into the atmosphere
before it is burned is harmful to the environment. Because it is able to trap heat in the
atmosphere, methane contributes to climate change.

GROUP 4: NITROUS OXIDE

 Nitrous oxide (N2O) gas should not be confused with nitric oxide (NO) or nitrogen
dioxide (NO2). Neither nitric oxide nor nitrogen dioxide are greenhouse gases, although
they are important in the process of creation of tropospheric ozone which is a
greenhouse gas. There are several sources of nitrous oxide, both natural and
anthropogenic (human), to the atmosphere with many of these sources difficult to
measure. Because of this, there is general agreement that the atmospheric sources and
sinks of nitrous oxide are difficult to bring into balance.

Nitrous oxide makes up an extremely small amount of the atmosphere - it is less

than one-thousandth as abundant as carbon dioxide. However, it is 200 to 300 times
more effective in trapping heat than carbon dioxide.

Nitrogen is removed from the atmosphere by plants and converted into forms
such as ammonia, which can then be used by the plants. This is called nitrogen fixation.
At the same time, micro-organisms remove nitrogen from the soil and put it back into
the atmosphere - gentrification - and this process produces nitrous oxide. Nitrous oxide
also enters the atmosphere from the ocean.

Nitrous oxide has one of the longest atmosphere lifetimes of the greenhouse
gases, lasting for up to 150 years.

Burning fossil fuels and wood is one source of the increase in atmospheric
nitrous oxide. However, the main contributor is believed to be the widespread use of
nitrogen-base fertilizers. Sewage treatment plants may also be a major source of this
gas. Since the Industrial Revolution, the level of nitrous oxide in the atmosphere has
increased by 16%. Due to the long time it spends in the atmosphere, the nitrous oxide
that we release today will still be trapping heat well into the next century.

GROUP 5: OZONE
 Ozone is an everyday part of the atmosphere and is constantly being created
and destroyed. Ozone does function as a greenhouse gas, but its strength compared to
carbon dioxide is yet to be calculated.

Ozone is created and destroyed by ultraviolet light from the Sun. It is created
from oxygen by high energy rays, while low energy rays destroy it. Some ozone is man-
made by various kinds of air pollution, which then reacts in sunlight.

Ozone isn’t a typical greenhouse gas. It has two distinct functions in the
atmosphere. High in the stratosphere, it absorbs ultraviolet light from the sun and
protects the earth. Near the ground, it serves as a pollutant and contributor to smog
and also has greenhouse characteristics.

Ozone is a molecule that is made up of three oxygen atoms linked together.

Because of its distinct chemical properties, it serves a dual purpose in the atmosphere.
In the stratosphere, ozone forms a layer that protects us from the sun by absorbing
harmful ultraviolet radiation before it gets to the surface (see Ozone Layer). The ozone
hole mentioned in newspapers and magazines is a decrease in ozone at high levels
caused by man-made gases called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which destroy ozone at
cold temperatures high up in the atmosphere. The ozone hole has been linked to
increases in skin and other cancers in populations that spend a lot of time outdoors,
such as farmers.