What contributes to the greenhouse effect?

Answer 1

Carbon dioxide

Answer 2

Johnnie, carbon dioxide IS very much a greenhouse gas and a most potent one...

as is water, even more so

to the person asking the question, I'm going to copy and paste an answer I wrote a while back (out of laziness) but if you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask :)

basically, the term is analagous to a greenhouse

the surrounding air is much cooler than the inside of a greenhouse

why?

well, most greenhouses have see through glass panels (that behave similar to the Earth's atmosphere)...so little solar radiation is absorbed, however, the panels absorb longwave infrared radiation emitted by the plants, soil etc...most of this radiation is then trapped within the greenhouse, causing the temperatures within to rise.

as I mentioned, this is rather like the Earth's atmosphere

most of the radiation emitted by the Earth's surface is absorbed by the atmosphere, whereas radiation absorbed from the sun, (solar radiation) is remarkably less

ok...if this longwave radiation emitted by the Earth's surface changes, i.e, there is an increase, but the solar radiation remains the same, then the atmosphere will trap more heat and in turn, there will be an increase of this longwave infrared radiation being emitted back to the Earth's surface (in the same way that the glass panels of the greenhouse work) thus causing a rise in surface temperatures

however, it's important to note that without this greenhouse effect, little if any life would exist on our planet as a sharp reduction in the amount of longwave infrared radiation being emitted back to the Earth's surface would result in lower temperatures, if none at all, then temperatures would well below freezing, so we depend on this greenhouse effect for survival

at present we cannot truly predict the outcome of future rises in co2 levels, however, what we can do is predict the possible consequences of what would change as a result in higher surface temperatures

there are benefits and disadvantages, although I would say that the disadvantages far outweigh any benefits for global plants and animals alike

ie..

you may be able to certain crops in areas that would otherwise be too cool to grow, but it's also important to note that crops require optimal temperatures and temperatures at either extreme may just as equally result in the crops not growing well at all

climate would be affected, giving an increase in widespread hurricanes etc...

thermal expansion of seawater causing a rise in sea-levels

malaria may spread to areas of low prevalence

I could go on and on

but the fact remains, that we need to curb our co2 emissions and the sooner the better

Source(s):

university science textbooks from last year


basically, water and co2 are the two main greenhouse gases, as the atomosphere gets warmer and more co2 is released from stored rocks etc...more co2 is pumped into the atmosphere, as well as more water being evaporated from oceans etc...the more water in the atmosphere, the more heat is trapped and the more radiation is transferred back to the Earth

so the key is to prevent an out of balance carbon, or in turn water cycle to keep the current temperatures and balances at a steady state

Answer 3

CO2, CH4, variations of the earth's orbit around the sun, and of course, the often overlooked solar flares of the sun, which have a major impact on climate fluctuations.

The popular theory right now is that auto and industrial emissions of CO2 from fossil fuels is plugging up the atmosphere with CO2, which acts to allow sunlight to penetrate on its way from the sun, but when it bounces back from the earth, and its wavelength changes, it is reflected back down to the earth by CO2, causing increase in temp.

CH4 has a similar effect though, and I read a report from the UN that labeled cows as the #1 environmental contributor to greenhouse effect. This was because with ranching, there are billions and billions of cows in the world, and they all emit CH4 when they flatulate. CH4 has 10X greater effect for trapping heat than CO2, so the UN implicated cows as the major reason for the greenhouse effect.

Answer 4

Mostly the use of regular gasoline. Try to get everyone to know about E85 which is 85% ethanol (a renewable fuel we can produce in the USA) and 15% regular gasoline. This would make us independent of imported oil and also help to stop the greenhouse effect on our atmosphere. Call your congressman.

Answer 5

Americans mostly, if you beleive the newspapers that good ole US refuse to lower emissions though every other country in the world is.

The sun rays come from the sun, hit earth and bounce up, but because of so much pollution get trapped in earth and can't rebound into space.
So, gases like CFC'c and fuel emissions, carbon dioxide seem to be the culprits

Answer 6

Very little . CO2 is not a green house gas. CO2 is removed from the atmosphere by all green plants. If u don't believe go measure it. It is very low and the plants are doing a good job.

Answer 7

everytime u get in your car you contribute. everytime u turn on a light in your house u contribute. everytime you go to the store to buy anything u contribute b/c if you didn't do that, the truck that brought wouldn't run, the factory that emits gases into the atmosphere wouldn't run so everytime u buy something u contribute