We have a tale of two gasses today - methane and carbon dioxide. Both trap heat in the atmosphere, and one is vital for life to exist on the planet - earth.
Methane accounts for a fifth - soon to be a quarter of global warming. Wetlands emissions, rice and cattle cultivation, and fossil fuel production and use, all contribute to atmospheric concentrations, which are two and a half times higher than 100 years ago.
Fixing leaky wells and stoves, reducing herds, and keeping rice fields flooded for less time will help reduce emissions - and warming in a matter of years. CO2 concentrations are up by forty percent - largely due to the combustion of fossil fuels. Switching to zero emission solar and wind projects for electricity generation, insulating homes, and ending internal combustion engine transportation will help reduce emissions now, and warming - in a matter of decades.
But we aren't trying to get to zero concentrations because we need the greenhouse effect to keep the planet from freezing over. With no carbon dioxide or methane in the atmosphere, the planet would be forty degrees colder - snowball earth. And plants - our current carbon capture champions - need co2 to live.
Water vapor is the largest contributor to warming. And the warmer the atmosphere, the more water vapor it can hold. Nitrous oxides account for five percent of the warming but get little scrutiny. They're emitted when nitrogen based fertilizers are overused - which both homeowners and farmers often do -, and during livestock production - especially in large feedlots. Fluorinated refrigerants are always man made, have 10,000 plus times the impact per molecule of co2, and stay in the atmosphere for up to 50,000 years.
If this is too complicated for a Monday, do some research yourself on Tuesday.
