Greenhouse Gases

Greenhouse Gases – Sources

Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere are called greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, fluorinated gases…

Each gas’s effect on climate change depends on three main factors:

How much is in the atmosphere? How long do they stay in the atmosphere? How strongly do they impact the atmosphere?

United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2022). Overview of Greenhouse Gases. https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gases

The Carbon Cycle

NASA Earth Observatory. (June 16, 2011). The Carbon Cycle. https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/CarbonCycle

NASA eClips 2019 Carbon Cycle

(6 min video/ youth)

NASA eClips. (July 13, 2019). 2019 Carbon Cycle [Video].YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNRw-CzDH6g

Sources of Greenhouse Gases

“Greenhouse gases trap heat and make the planet warmer. Human activities are responsible for almost all of the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere over the last 150 years.1 The largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from human activities in the United States is from burning fossil fuels for electricity, heat, and transportation.

EPA tracks total U.S. emissions by publishing the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks. This annual report estimates the total national greenhouse gas emissions and removals associated with human activities across the United States.”

United States Environmental Protection Agency. (July 27,2021, updated January 2025). Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions