A Short History of Greenhouse Gases on Earth
The era known as the Industrial Revolution was a period in which remarkable changes occurred in agriculture, textile manufacture, transportation, economic policies, and the overall social structure in England and America. The Industrial Revolution, which took place predominantly in the late 1700s and early 1800s, can be marked as the beginning of anthropogenic gasses on earth. Anthropogenic gases are unnaturally occurring, human-produced greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases have been on earth long before humans manufactured them, but scientific evidence proves that emissions have skyrocketed since this time period. Greenhouse gases have always heated the earth, but the additional gases produced by human activities have outpaced the natural release and absorption cycle.
Carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide, methane, and water vapor are all greenhouse gases that occur naturally within the earth’s atmosphere. Methane and carbon dioxide are two of the most present and potent gases released into the atmosphere today. Methane is created from the decomposition of waste, livestock production, and coal mining. Carbon dioxide is released from fuel use, deforestation, and cement production. The text Climate Change, Science and Policy by Stephen Schneider, states, “One methane molecule is roughly thirty times more effective at absorbing infrared that is one CO2 molecule. Although CO2 concentration increase tends to persist in the atmosphere for centuries or longer, methane typically disappears in decades, making its warming potential relative to that of CO2 lower on a longer timescale.” (2010). There is a negative connotation of carbon dioxide in particular, but the earth would be almost inhabitable without it. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine video, Climate Change: Lines of Evidence explains “to determine how CO2 varied prior to modern measurements scientists have studied the composition of air bubbles trapped in ice cores extracted from Greenland and Antarctica these data show that for at least two thousand years before the industrial revolution atmospheric CO2 concentration was steady and then began to rise sharply begging in the late 19th century.” This increase can be attributed to the astronomical rise in coal and oil extraction in the early 19th century. The video explains that “atmospheric CO2 concentration is about 40 percent higher than pre-industrial levels and according to ice core data higher than any point in the past 800,000 years” (2012). This data proves that greenhouse gases have been a part of the earth’s history for thousands of years. Causing consistent drops and increases in global temperature, the instability in climate began after industrialization.
These gases trap heat in the atmosphere and create a heating effect hence the name greenhouse effect. This effect is necessary for life on earth to exist, the gases keep the planet hot enough for food to grow, animals to live, and people to function. Without natural greenhouse gases, the surface temperature of the earth would be below freezing. Therefore these gases are a necessary ingredient to our planet; however, humans have created an overabundance of certain greenhouse gases that take centuries to escape the earth’s atmosphere and are heating the globe at a record pace. Increasing concentration of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) due to human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels but also deforestation and other land-use changes, have contributed most to the intensification of the greenhouse effect.
Halocarbons, which include CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), HCFCs, HFCs, PFCs, SF6, and NF3, are also all greenhouse gases. These gases come from refrigerants and air conditioning, electronic equipment, medicine, and other human-made products. These gases are all extremely potent, anthropogenic, and come only from industrial processes. However, their use and, therefore, abundance is decreasing steadily since the 1987 Montreal Protocol. According to the U.S. Department of State “(The protocol) is a global agreement to protect the stratospheric ozone layer by phasing out the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances (ODS). The stratospheric ozone layer filters out harmful ultraviolet radiation, associated with an increased prevalence of skin cancer and cataracts, reduced agricultural productivity, and disruption of marine ecosystems.” (2019). These gasses have no natural origin on earth, so the increase directly correlates to human activity. Lastly is ozone, also known as O3, directly related to the ozone hole and its depletion. This point is further proven by Climate Change Science and Policy, “Ozone in the troposphere near the surface is a potent component of smog, resulting largely from motor vehicle emissions. Tropospheric ozone contributes about one-fourth the radiative forcing of CO2, although unlike the well-mixed gases, tropospheric ozone tends to be limited to industrialized regions, and it is of great concern for health effects as well as climatic influences.” (2010). While these gases are somewhat controlled by government entities, their effects are still in the atmosphere.
Greenhouse gases create the world we live in today, a balance of heat and release. However, the introduction of anthropogenic gases has caused extreme stress on the former balance between the sun and the earth’s surfaces. The introduction of industrialization is seen by scientists as a pivotal moment in human history because of the burning of fossil fuels. Reducing our greenhouse gas emissions is the most critical battle in fighting climate change.
References
Schneider, S., Rosencranz, A., Mastrandrea, M., Kuntz-Duriseti, K. (2010). Climate Change Science and Policy. Island Press. Washington.
U.S. Department of State. (2019). The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer. retrieved from https://www.state.gov/key-topics-office-of-environmental-quality-and-transboundary-issues/the-montreal-protocol-on-substances-that-deplete-the-ozone-layer/
