Carbon Footprint: What are greenhouse gases?

Carbon footprint = the amount of greenhouse gases produced by human activities and is measured in the amount of CO2 produced.

What are greenhouse gases?
Greenhouse gas is any gas that traps heat in the atmosphere through the greenhouse effect.

Here are some examples:
1) CO2: through the burning of fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas, coal), the burning of solid waste, trees and wood products, and also
it is the result of other chemical reactions (e.g., manufacture of cement).

2) Methane: emitted during the production & transport of coal, natural gas and oil. It is also a result from livestock and other agricultural practices, and by the decay of organic waste in municipal solid waste landfills.

3) Nitrous Oxide: emitted during agricultural and industrial activities, as well as during combustion of fossil fuels and solid waste

4) Fluorinated Gases: they are powerful greenhouse gases that are emitted from a variety of industrial processes (e.g. Chlorofluorocarbon)

All these greenhouse gases mentioned above are produced from human activities. As carbon footprint is the measure of the amount of greenhouse gases produced in CO2, therefore human activities are the cause of our large carbon footprint.

Main activities that will increase our carbon footprint:
a) use of transportation (planes, cars, trains)
b) burning of fossil fuels (petrol, coal)
c) process of manufacturing products (clothing, food, personal products)
d) use of household electricity (computers, lights)
e) use of pesticides
f) heating and cooling – hot water showers, central heating, air conditioning

by Yvonne Lee