![]() ![]() That geometry means they only interact with a narrow wavelength of light. They are each composed of two, not three, linked atoms, two nitrogens or two oxygens. How does carbon dioxide work as a greenhouse gas?ĬO 2 is great at holding in heat partly because it's a bigger molecule than the nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (21%) that make up most of Earth's atmosphere. In chemical texts it's written this way: CO 2 where the subscript numeral two means there are two oxygen atoms. That simply means it's a molecule that contains one carbon and two oxygen atoms. You'll often see carbon dioxide written with its chemical formula name, CO 2. In terms of US greenhouse gases emissions, here's a list by amounts from the Environmental Protection Agency: Greenhouse gases are among those "other things."Ĭarbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, one of the four main ones. That natural process, however, has begun to change due to humans burning fossil fuels.Įarth's atmosphere is made up of 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, with just 1% other things. "It's really lucky for us that we have air." Without it, the Earth would just be a white frozen ball hanging in space-uninhabitable. The greenhouse effect is a natural process, said Denning. That "blanket" is made up of several gases nicknamed " greenhouse gases" because they hold in heat, just like the glass panes of a greenhouse hold in the sun's heat. For that we need the Earth's atmosphere, which acts like a blanket holding in some of the heat, said Scott Denning, a professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University. The energy that comes in from the sun alone is not enough to keep the Earth warm. Why does carbon dioxide cause global warming?Įarth is heated by the sun-About 71% of the solar energy that arrives is absorbed by the atmosphere and surface and 29% is reflected back into space, according to NASA. So how is something so necessary to life also so harmful? Here's what to know: That gas is critical to life on earth because plants use sunlight and carbon dioxide to create energy through the process of photosynthesis.īut carbon dioxide is also the primary reason the climate is warming, a long-term shift in temperature that threatens the delicately balanced ecosystems humans depend upon. ![]()
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