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Question
Out of CH4 and CO2 which gas is more responsible for global warming and why?
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Solution
CO2 has caused most of the warming and its influence is expected to continue. CO2 remains in the atmosphere longer than the other major heat-trapping gases emitted as a result of human activities.
It takes about a decade for methane ((CH_4)\) emissions to leave the atmosphere (it converts into CO2) and about a century for nitrous oxide (N2O). In the case of CO2, much of today’s emissions will be gone in a century, but about 20 percent will still exist in the atmosphere approximately 800 years from now. This literally means that the heat-trapping emissions we release today from our cars and power plants are setting the climate our children and grandchildren will inherit. CO2’s long life in the atmosphere provides the clearest possible rationale for reducing our CO2 emissions without delay.
It takes about a decade for methane ((CH_4)\) emissions to leave the atmosphere (it converts into CO2) and about a century for nitrous oxide (N2O). In the case of CO2, much of today’s emissions will be gone in a century, but about 20 percent will still exist in the atmosphere approximately 800 years from now. This literally means that the heat-trapping emissions we release today from our cars and power plants are setting the climate our children and grandchildren will inherit. CO2’s long life in the atmosphere provides the clearest possible rationale for reducing our CO2 emissions without delay.
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