N₂O: a Greenhouse Gas
Task 10 in the first week asks us to choose a greenhouse gas (GHG) and answer 3 questions about it. I've chosen N₂O, because I drive a diesel car. Bought about 4 years ago, when I still believed the hype about it being more environmentally friendly. We can all be misguided or naive (well, I certainly can); learning from mistakes is key.
According to the EPA, it is both naturally and anthropogenically produced. In the US, 75% of man-made N₂O is a product of synthetic fertilisers in agriculture. The rest arises from fuel combustion and the industrial production of nylon, other artifical fibres and synthetic fertilisers. About 5% is emitted from livestock manure and urine. N₂O is also part of the natural nitrogen cycle, without which life (as we know it) could not exist. The EPA estimates 40% of N₂O) in the atmosphere is man-made (2015 figures).
At 5% of total human GHG emissions in the US, N₂O is less prevalent than either CO₂ (82%) or methane (10%). But it is also much more powerful: about 300 times the impact of the same mass of CO₂. It is also quite long-lasting, on average staying in the atmosphere for 114 years. I couldn't find a simple comparison for CO₂ - some of this is absorbed quite quickly and some will apparently stay around for possibly thousands of years. Methane, again according to the EPA, is removed in about 12 years.
I couldn't find any discussion of N₂O playing any important feedback role, positive or negative. However, according to wikipedia, it is a "precursor of tropospheric (lower atmosphere) ozone production, which contributes to smog and acid rain" and thus a hazard for life on the planet in another way too.
Note on the EPA website. I was fortunate to find helpful pages that have not yet been "updated." A number of EPA pages on climate change have been taken down while they have changes made that "reflect the agency’s new direction under President Donald Trump and Administrator Scott Pruitt." By the time you visit the link in my 2nd paragraph above, it may no longer exist. Or it may say something different. Due to the removal of "outdated language." 'Nuff said?
According to the EPA, it is both naturally and anthropogenically produced. In the US, 75% of man-made N₂O is a product of synthetic fertilisers in agriculture. The rest arises from fuel combustion and the industrial production of nylon, other artifical fibres and synthetic fertilisers. About 5% is emitted from livestock manure and urine. N₂O is also part of the natural nitrogen cycle, without which life (as we know it) could not exist. The EPA estimates 40% of N₂O) in the atmosphere is man-made (2015 figures).
At 5% of total human GHG emissions in the US, N₂O is less prevalent than either CO₂ (82%) or methane (10%). But it is also much more powerful: about 300 times the impact of the same mass of CO₂. It is also quite long-lasting, on average staying in the atmosphere for 114 years. I couldn't find a simple comparison for CO₂ - some of this is absorbed quite quickly and some will apparently stay around for possibly thousands of years. Methane, again according to the EPA, is removed in about 12 years.
I couldn't find any discussion of N₂O playing any important feedback role, positive or negative. However, according to wikipedia, it is a "precursor of tropospheric (lower atmosphere) ozone production, which contributes to smog and acid rain" and thus a hazard for life on the planet in another way too.
Note on the EPA website. I was fortunate to find helpful pages that have not yet been "updated." A number of EPA pages on climate change have been taken down while they have changes made that "reflect the agency’s new direction under President Donald Trump and Administrator Scott Pruitt." By the time you visit the link in my 2nd paragraph above, it may no longer exist. Or it may say something different. Due to the removal of "outdated language." 'Nuff said?
posted by Macro @ January 24, 2018
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