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Eco Living 101: Greenhouse Gases

by Jennifer on November 3rd, 2007

I was talking to a friend the other day and it struck me that the words I use to talk about things don’t always make sense to people who haven’t been as involved in environmental issues for very long.

Once you start getting involved in green issues you come across a lot of confusing terms — it’s just like learning any new topic except for that the learning curve surrounding green issues seem steeper.

There’s a lot to learn and at least to me it seems like people just expect you to know it right off the bat.

That said I thought we’d go over some super basics here. Sort of a 101 series — less what you can do and more what terms mean. Although, knowing what terms mean allows you to do more to help the planet so learning and doing are super interconnected.

For those of you more involved in environmental issues you’ll already know this stuff. In that case just skip this and head on to another post.

The basic greenhouse gases you hear about:

Carbon dioxide: This is the biggie greenhouse gas. It’s also called CO2 and we all make it simply by breathing. When humans or animals exhale CO2 is produced. Obviously no on has come up with a good solution to that CO2 issue. A larger source of CO2 pollution is when we burn non-renewable resources called fossil fuels. The fossil fuels are oil, gasoline, and coal. Wood burning as well is a source.

Methane: Ah methane the stuff that human and animal farts create (much to the delight of young boys everywhere). Also methane is produced by rotting plants and garbage as it breaks down. So a landfill for instance is a huge methane producer.

Nitrogen Oxide: This gas is given off by cars as we drive and power plants (coal burning) as our electricity is produced. This is a greenhouse gas that theoretically could be 100% stopped.

Chlorofluorocarbons: These are also called CFCs. CFCs are used in literally thousands of items. CFCs suck pretty hard core. In easy terms, when CFCs interact with sunlight they release chlorine atoms. As they rise up into the atmosphere they basically attack the ozone layer. CFCs sort of eat away at the ozone and you can’t stop the damage they do. If we ceased all use of CFCs right this second we’d have at least a residual century of damage to deal with so the less you use the better. To see a list of items containing CFCs and the alternatives visit Mother Earth News.

For more information:

• Fossil fuels
• Carbon dioxide
• Methane
• Nitrogen Oxide
• Chlorofluorocarbons
• Benefits of a CFC Phaseout
• Time for Kids had a greenhouse gases special that breaks gases down kid style — good for elementary aged kids.

Is there anything else you think would make a good 101 post in regards to green living? Terms you’re interested in? Let me know.

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