Electricity is the Main Factor in Producing Carbon Dioxide

Industries and Electrical generation are estimated to produce “a little over 50%” of greenhouse emissions, making it the biggest problem (Petterson

What is the main source of the increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?

Over the years Carbon Dioxide has been significantly increasing from human activity. CO2 has a concentration of about 400 ppmv (parts per million volume). Its concentration in the atmosphere was about 280 ppmv before the Industrial Revolution, now it has increased immensely to about 380 ppmv in 2006. Many have said Carbon Dioxide has been the main reason or cause of global warming; saying that if we produce too much of this greenhouse gas it can create a global climate change. Even though carbon dioxide affects the temperature of the atmosphere it also affects the acidity of water specifically in the ocean.

Main Point - Despite the fact that a specific amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) happens naturally in the Earth's atmosphere, there are many human activities that boost the levels of the greenhouse gases causing it to be harmful to Earth`s climate.

Coal-burning power plants are the largest U.S. source of carbon dioxide pollution producing 2.5 billion tons of CO2 emissions every year (Natural Resources Defense Council 2005). Cars are the second largest source, creating nearly 1.5 billion tons of CO2 annually (Natural Resources Defense Council 2005). Approximately 50% of the greenhouse gasses causing global warming are coming from burning fossil fuels to power or create electricity and another 25% was coming out of our tail pipes from burning gasoline or diesel (Brunsaw 2015).

[Level 2] Which of your own daily activities contribute most to increasing atmospheric CO2 levels and changing the climate? What are some steps you can take to decrease this effect?

The production of coal energy produces the most amount of carbon dioxide than any other method. It is a non-renewable energy source, and coal mines destroy most of the surrounding areas around it. With the recession going on, no one is buying into coal power plants at the moment which is an economy issue. (Center for Energy)

Human activities are raising the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In today 's world, energy is very important because

Over 70% of our electricity comes from burning fossil fuels. Increase in technology (a.k.a electricity) leads to burning of waste. As well as the increase in population, leads to increase in food consumption, which greenhouse gas emissions generate from livestock, agricultural soils, and rice production.

Secondly, together with deforestation of the planet, the burning of fossil fuels is contributing to a measurable increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in

“CO2 gas emissions” is a mystical term which everyone should pay attention to. C02 gas is a colorless, odorless gas that is present in the atmosphere and is formed when any fuel containing carbon is burned. Plants and trees are using it in the process of photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is also used in refrigeration, fire extinguishers, and carbonated drinks. In other words this is the gas we need to fight with! By using fossil fuels in almost everything we do, we make a huge cloud of gas and this is warming up the world. By doing this, we cause serious damage to the nature and we may have an irreversible effect on it and the future.

Coal power plants are the most used source of power in the world, places like South Africa; Coal power consists of 93% of the industry. Coal power plants create a huge impact on the power industry and powers 41% of global electricity. (World Coal Association, 2015)

CO2 is the most significant greenhouse gas, which mainly comes from the use of fossil fuels. Many people feel that content of CO2 in the atmosphere is the main reason for manmade global warming. The main sources of CO2 emissions involve electricity generation, industrial processes, fumes from transportation and commercial buildings and use. Emissions of greenhouse gases, such as CO2, to the atmosphere are expected to cause even more of a significant change in global climate (Davison, 2007). The main focus to try to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is to reduce the amount that is released from coal-fired power plants. Greenhouse gas emissions that involve the productions of electricity come from natural gas production and coal-fired power plant operations. Natural gas production accounts for twenty-four percent and coal-fired power plant operations accounts for seventy-five percent, while the other one percent is caused by other electricity generation operations. The main reason why coal-fired power plants have a higher percentage of emissions is because the sulfur content of coal is much higher than that of other fossil fuels (Jarmaillo et al., 2007). This proves that there is a great need to find an alternative fossil fuel to use instead of coal. Although coal is easy to mine, transport and process for the electricity generation process, it is also the

Carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas naturally found in the atmosphere. Since the advent of the Industrial Revolution in the 1700s, humans have devised many inventions that burn fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gases, which, along with other human activities such as clearing land for agriculture or urban settlements, help some of these greenhouse gases accumulate in the atmosphere that in turn trap more heat radiation in the atmosphere causing the Earth’s climate to become warmer than it would naturally (Mastrandrea). This unnatural phenomenon is termed global warming by scientists and they blame it for an increase in the Earth’s surface temperature of about 0.6°C (about 1°F) over the last 100 years (Mastrandrea).

CO2 is one the gases in the greenhouse gas family and with “a stronger greenhouse effect [it] will warm the oceans and partially melt glacier and other ice, increasing sea level” (Climate Change). As humans continue to emit greenhouse gases into the air it is inevitable that sea levels will raise, temperatures will increase throughout the globe, and ultimately change the climate drastically damaging many ecosystems and impacting the way in which humans live on Earth. Many make the argument that the reason fossil fuels are the primary source of energy is due to their density amount of energy, but there is another source of energy that has energy even more dense than fossil fuels.