How does methane contribute to global warming

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Note: All emission estimates are from the Inventory of U. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: — Carbon dioxide CO 2 is the primary greenhouse gas emitted through human activities. In , CO 2 accounted for about 80 percent of all U. Carbon dioxide is naturally present in the atmosphere as part of the Earth's carbon cycle the natural circulation of carbon among the atmosphere, oceans, soil, plants, and animals.

Human activities are altering the carbon cycle—both by adding more CO 2 to the atmosphere, and by influencing the ability of natural sinks, like forests and soils, to remove and store CO 2 from the atmosphere. While CO 2 emissions come from a variety of natural sources, human-related emissions are responsible for the increase that has occurred in the atmosphere since the industrial revolution.

Carbon dioxide is constantly being exchanged among the atmosphere, ocean, and land surface as it is both produced and absorbed by many microorganisms, plants, and animals. However, emissions and removal of CO 2 by these natural processes tend to balance, absent anthropogenic impacts.

Since the Industrial Revolution began around , human activities have contributed substantially to climate change by adding CO 2 and other heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere. In the United States, since , the management of forests and other land e. This carbon sink offset is about 12 percent of total emissions in and is discussed in more detail in the Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry section.

To find out more about the role of CO 2 in warming the atmosphere and its sources, visit the Climate Change Indicators page. Carbon dioxide emissions in the United States increased by about 3 percent between and Since the combustion of fossil fuel is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, changes in emissions from fossil fuel combustion have historically been the dominant factor affecting total U.

Changes in CO 2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion are influenced by many long-term and short-term factors, including population growth, economic growth, changing energy prices, new technologies, changing behavior, and seasonal temperatures. Between and , the increase in CO 2 emissions corresponded with increased energy use by an expanding economy and population, including overall growth in emissions from increased demand for travel.

The most effective way to reduce CO 2 emissions is to reduce fossil fuel consumption. Many strategies for reducing CO 2 emissions from energy are cross-cutting and apply to homes, businesses, industry, and transportation. Improving the insulation of buildings, traveling in more fuel-efficient vehicles, and using more efficient electrical appliances are all ways to reduce energy use, and thus CO 2 emissions.

Reducing personal energy use by turning off lights and electronics when not in use reduces electricity demand. Reducing distance traveled in vehicles reduces petroleum consumption.

Both are ways to reduce energy CO 2 emissions through conservation. Producing more energy from renewable sources and using fuels with lower carbon contents are ways to reduce carbon emissions. Carbon dioxide capture and sequestration is a set of technologies that can potentially greatly reduce CO 2 emissions from new and existing coal- and gas-fired power plants, industrial processes, and other stationary sources of CO 2.

For example, capturing CO 2 from the stacks of a coal-fired power plant before it enters the atmosphere, transporting the CO 2 via pipeline, and injecting the CO 2 deep underground at a carefully selected and suitable subsurface geologic formation, such as a nearby abandoned oil field, where it is securely stored. Some of the excess carbon dioxide will be absorbed quickly for example, by the ocean surface , but some will remain in the atmosphere for thousands of years, due in part to the very slow process by which carbon is transferred to ocean sediments.

Qin, G. Plattner, M. Tignor, S. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P. Midgley eds. In , methane CH 4 accounted for about 10 percent of all U. Human activities emitting methane include leaks from natural gas systems and the raising of livestock.

Methane is also emitted by natural sources such as natural wetlands. In addition, natural processes in soil and chemical reactions in the atmosphere help remove CH 4 from the atmosphere. Methane's lifetime in the atmosphere is much shorter than carbon dioxide CO 2 , but CH 4 is more efficient at trapping radiation than CO 2.

Pound for pound, the comparative impact of CH 4 is 25 times greater than CO 2 over a year period. Globally, percent of total CH 4 emissions come from human activities. Methane is also emitted from a number of natural sources. Natural wetlands are the largest source, emitting CH 4 from bacteria that decompose organic materials in the absence of oxygen.

Smaller sources include termites, oceans, sediments, volcanoes, and wildfires. Ocko, I. Article Google Scholar. Cusworth, D. Download references. News 10 NOV Article 10 NOV News Feature 03 NOV Editorial 03 NOV Correspondence 02 NOV Francis Crick Institute. Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

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