The Primary Three
This gas is the most abundant greenhouse gas and is a natural part of the water cycle.
What is Water Vapor?
These burn coal or natural gas to create power and are a major source of CO2.
What are Power Plants?
This is the chemical formula for carbon dioxide.
What is CO2?
These gases act like this item of clothing, keeping the planet's heat from escaping.
What is a Blanket?
This era in the 18th-19th century marked the start of rising greenhouse gas levels.
What is the Industrial Revolution?
Released by burning fossil fuels, this is the primary greenhouse gas emitted by humans.
What is Carbon Dioxide?
Decaying trash in these locations is a leading source of methane emissions.
What are Landfills/Dumps?
CH4 is the chemical formula for this potent greenhouse gas.
What is Methane?
Without greenhouse gases, Earth’s average temperature would be about this many degrees Fahrenheit.
What is 0°F (-18°C)?
This process of clearing forests removes "sinks" that would otherwise absorb CO2.
What is Deforestation?
While it stays in the air for less time than CO2, this gas is over 25 times more potent.
What is Methane?
The use of these in agriculture is the primary source of nitrous oxide emissions.
What are Fertilizers?
This is the chemical formula for nitrous oxide, or "laughing gas".
What is is N2O?
Greenhouse gases trap this specific type of radiation as it leaves Earth's surface.
What is Infrared?
This sector—including cars and planes—is often the largest source of U.S. emissions.
What is Transportation?
Livestock, such as cattle, produce large amounts of this gas during digestion.
What is Methane?
Wetlands and termite mounds are significant natural sources of this potent gas.
What is Methane?
O3 is the chemical symbol for this gas found in both the upper and lower atmosphere.
What is Ozone?
This term describes a gas's ability to trap heat relative to CO2 over a set period.
What is Global Warming Potential?
This country is currently the world’s top emitter of greenhouse gases.
What is China?
As Earth warms, more of this gas evaporates, creating a feedback loop that traps more heat.
What is Water Vapor?
Thawing this frozen Arctic soil can release massive amounts of trapped methane.
What is Permafrost?
Greenhouse gas molecules must have at least this many atoms to be able to trap heat.
What is Three?
This "curve" is the famous graph showing the steady rise of CO2 in the air since 1958.
What is the Keeling Curve?
This 1997 international treaty was a major attempt to commit nations to reducing emissions.
What is the Kyoto Protocol?