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car co2 emissions and co2
CO2 Pollution and Global Warming
Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of one carbon and
two oxygen atoms and is known as co2. Carbon dioxide was one of
the first gases to be described as a substance distinct from air
and is present in a low concentration in the Earth's atmosphere.
But when does carbon dioxide become a pollutant?
CO2 emissions are increasing faster than expected and carbon
dioxide emissions from fossil fuels have accelerated
globally at a far greater rate than expected over recent years.
Atmosphere
Carbon Synthesis:The ocean plays an important role in
regulating the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere and in
regulating climate variability and the impact that humans
have on the global environment. Currently, burning fossil
fuels emits just over 7 billion tonnes of CO2 (GtC) into the
atmosphere each year. The Southern Ocean has been absorbing
less CO2 from the atmosphere since 1981, even though levels
have increased 40 percent due to the burning of fossil fuels.
Greenhouse gases have also changed the temperature structure
of the atmosphere, and climate models show that these changes
also strengthen the westerly winds over the Southern Ocean.
As the surface becomes more saturated with CO2,
it absorbs less and less from the atmosphere and once in the
atmosphere, most of the carbon dioxide stays there for 50 to
200 years, and some of it stays there indefinitely.
Carbon
Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels, the principal driver
of climate change, have accelerated globally at a far greater rate
than expected over recent years according to a paper recently published
in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Cars
Cars are an important part of the everyday lives of a large number
of Europeans however cars account for 10% of total European emissions of
carbon dioxide (CO2) the principal greenhouse gas responsible for
global warming. Nearly a quarter of all car journeys are less than
2 miles and cars consume most fuel at the start of their journey when
the engine is cold. As a measure to try and reduce the amount of cars
entering central London uk a congestion charge was brought about and
in one year a 38-percent drop in private cars entering London was recorded
whichwas twice the anticipated figure.
Countries
A study found that in 2004, emissions from developing economies
made up 73 per cent of the global growth in emissions ― largely due
to moving energy-intensive activities from developed to developing
countries. As countries undergo industrial development, they move
through a period of intensive, and often inefficient, use of fossil
fuel. The United States, the world's top carbon dioxide emitter, in
2001 pulled out of the pact that requires developing countries to cut
emissions by an average of 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.
Greenhouse
How much CO2 and other greenhouse gasses (CO2e) do your activities create.
Cities are responsible for three-quarters of the world's energy consumption
as well as about 80 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute
to global warming and play a critical role in the reversal of dangerous
climate change. There is strong evidence that human emissions of
greenhouse gases are changing the world's climate. We know that CO2 is a
greenhouse gas because it absorbs and emits certain frequencies of infrared
radiation. What is more, CO2 is just one of several greenhouses gases,
and greenhouse gases are just one of many factors affecting the climate.
Models suggest that rising greenhouse gases, including CO2, explains about
40% of the warming as the ice ages ended.
Conclusion
Are you ready to act on CO2. This latest period of warming is largely
caused by the accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere. Today, CO2 levels
are higher than at any time in at least the past 650,000 years because of
increased fossil fuel burning.
The future of the world is in the hands of each and everyone of us and it
is up to every individual to make their contribution to reducing co2 and
reducing their own carbon footprint.
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