Carbon Dioxide and Methane as Greenhouse Gases

• greenhouse gases in the atmosphere maintain temperatures on earth high enough to support life
• examples of greenhouse gases

  • water vapour
  • carbon dioxide
  • methane
• some human activities increase the amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (carbon dioxide, methane)
• many scientists believe human activities will cause the temperature of the earths atmosphere to increase at the surface which results in global climate change
• it's difficult to model such complex systems as global climate change - this leads to simplified models, speculation and opinions presented in the media that may be based on only parts of the evidence and which may be biased
• an increase in average global temperature is a major cause of climate change - there are several potential effects of global climate change
• what is carbon footprint

  total amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted over the full life cycle of a product, service or event - the carbon footprint can be reduced by reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and methane