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Sunday, July 7, 2019

Greenhouse Gases: More Than CO2...

Carbon dioxide is what we commonly associate with global warming. Methane, that breaks down into CO2 after 8 years, is gaining in popular notoriety (one ton of methane emitted to the atmosphere is equivalent to 34 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions). Currently, a third greenhouse gas is beginning to be recognized by John Q. Public as, also, being a significant contributor to ‘artificially induced climate change’— a single ton of nitrous oxide is equivalent to 298 tons of carbon dioxide and has a atmospheric lifetime of 110 years , and the process that removes nitrous oxide from the atmosphere also depletes ozone. So, nitrous oxide is not only a greenhouse gas, but also an ozone destroyer. [Note: Even though ozone is a greenhouse gas, it protects us from UV radiation and is, therefore, essential for our survival. Thus, the importance of curtailing nitrous oxide emissions. Oops! Nitrous oxide is released during the use of artificial fertilizer which our overpopulated world depends on for food production. Catch 22!]

Even more greenhouse gases:
https://www.thoughtco.com/worst-greenhouse-gases-606789

https://news.berkeley.edu/2012/04/02/fertilizer-use-responsible-for-increase-in-nitrous-oxide-in-atmosphere/

http://theconversation.com/the-ground-exhales-reducing-agricultures-greenhouse-gas-emissions-40795

Realizing that natural sources of nitrous oxide are a part of the natural nitrogen cycle, google
“anthropogenic sources nitrous oxide” for the not natural and problematic sources.

Reducing Global Warming Angst

Each unit of petroleum that you consume, each quantity of food that you eat raised using artificial fertilizer, 
each bit of refrigerant released into the atmosphere, each dram of methane released by oil exploration or agribiz or the melting of permafrost and methane hydrate nudges us ever so imperceptibly closer to our global Armageddon. Increasing greenhouse gases increases their infrared radiation blanketing effect and, thus, increases the single biggest greenhouse gas, water vapor. We’ve been told this so many times that it has become an annoying background noise that we tend to tune out as we struggle with our daily lives. In the middle of the night, however, the creeping angst from our subconscious surfaces and the fear factor creeps up another notch in your psyche. Your soul begins to reach for answers, but your inaction pulls you down. 

If you want to earn the forgiveness of future generations, then do at least one thing each day to increase the pressure on business and political leaders to take action. One of the best ways to do this is to talk about the problems. Talk about positive things being done to solve this problem. Talk about how much money is saved by using renewable energy sources, etcetera:
http://samslair.blogspot.com/2019/06/doable-approaches-to-drawdown-of-carbon.html?m=1