chemistry of the atmosphere

• the earth was formed roughly 4.6 billion years ago
• most scientists think that for the first billion years of the earth's existence, highly active volcanoes populated the surface, which frequently erupted released lots of carbon dioxide
• most scientists think that carbon dioxide dominated the early atmosphere in a similar way to modern-day mars and venus
• the volcanic activity also released nitrogen, which slowly built-up in the atmosphere, and water vapour, which condensed to form oceans, as well as smaller quantities of methane and ammonia
• the formation of oceans removed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and some of the dissolved carbon dioxide reacted with seawater to produce carbonate precipitates, deposited as sediment
• photosynthesis increased the atmospheric concentration of oxygen
• algae were the first photosynthetic organisms to evolve approximately 2.7 billion years ago
• eventually, a threshold concentration of oxygen was reached which allowed more complex life forms to evolve
• the factors that caused atmospheric carbon dioxide to decrease was oceans, photosynthesis, and marine animals
• certain human activities cause the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases to increase
• burning fossil fuels releases carbon, in the form of carbon dioxide, which had been locked up for millions of years previously
• fewer trees means less photosynthesis, meaning less carbon dioxide is being removed from the atmosphere
• the number of size of landfill sites is increasing, meaning more mounds of waste are decomposing, releasing methane
• farm animals release methane during digestion
• although the earth's temperature naturally changes, the recent increase in temperature is connected to increasing atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations
• the current scientific consensus is that increased greenhouse gas emissions caused by changes to human activity will lead to global climate change, based upon peer-reviewed evidence
• the global climate system is very complicated, making it difficult to create accurate models. because of this, people speculate about climate change based on simple models and inadequate information
• some people may have reasons to play down the contribution of green house emissions to climate change. if these biased opinions are published in the media, misinformation can spread
• a carbon footprint is a measure of the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted as a result of a particular service, event or product
• individuals can reduce their carbon footprint by maximising the efficiency of their energy use, minimising their waste, and using renewable energy sources
• governments an reduce carbon footprints by imposing emission-based taxes, emission caps, and emission licences up to a certain cap, which are compulsory
• carbon dioxide, produced by burning fossil fuels, is captured and stored deep underground, before it's released into the atmosphere
• we can compensate emissions by planting trees, as they remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis
• carbon-neutral products don't change the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration
• we ma know how to reduce carbon footprints, but there are many factors than mean making these changes is not easy
• scientists don't agree on the causes and consequences of climate change, preventing scientists from making significant advances
• making governments worry that making the required changes may restrict the economic development of their country, which is an attitude most common in developing countries
• countries have different opinions about the right course of action, spreading uncertainty, as countries aren't sure what other countries would do when presented with a potential international agreement, therefore countries hesitate to sign anything
• people in developed countries might not want to change their lifestyles, so some societies don't make progress as their people are not educated on the importance of changing lifestyles