Photo by Marcin Jozwiak on Unsplash
Greenhouse gas gases are the talk of climate change for more than a decade. You can imagine the effect of Greenhouse gas gases as hot-air balloons- they trap in the heat leading to a rise in temperature. Emission of Greenhouse gas gases through natural phenomenon existed but wasn’t a major concern until human activities have accelerated the Greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere.
Consequently, the earth is getting hotter than desirable every passing year. Global warming has set the ball rolling for disasters like ozone depletion, melting of ice glaciers, rise in water-levels and so on.
Who are the members of the Greenhouse gas club?
If carbon-di-oxide is the president of this club, then methane is the treasurer. These two gases pose adverse effects in the climatic changes. Other contributing members are nitrous oxides, halocarbons, water vapour and ozone.
Earlier, the role of Greenhouse gas gases was seen under a positive light as they maintained earth warm enough to sustain life. Now, the very Greenhouse gas gases are posing a threat to the living world.
Underestimated source of Greenhouse gas gases
Industries and electricity are considered to be in the front-run as the Greenhouse gas emission sources. Shockingly, agriculture and forestry also have a high hand in rising Greenhouse gas levels, by almost 24%. According to experts, the numbers calculated may not picture the entire story. Few variables may have been overlooked which are relevant to the stated issue like
⮚ CO2 is synonymous with Greenhouse gas. But methane is a significant gas produced in the agriculture domain.
⮚ Neglecting the carbon footprints of products consumed by agriculture and post-agricultural phases.
Not only agriculture but the entire global food industry-starting from manufacturing fertilizers to storing and packing is the bad guy. According to the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the contribution is almost one-third.
What is the future?
On September 10, 2020, U.N reported- ‘concentration of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere hit a record high this year’. The brief dip we observed earlier this year-thanks to lockdown-isn’t a long-lasting reality. The Greenhouse gas concentration is at the highest levels in 3 million years.
We are on the brink of our sanity dealing with the pandemic. Are we to be hit by the worst-scenarios yet?
FOOTNOTES
● https://www.nature.com/news/one-third-of-our-greenhouse-gas-emissions-come-from-agriculture-1.11708
Article by,
Meghana Girish
meghnag.144@gmail.com
Content expert (trainee)
Treillis Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd