9.1.4

Greenhouse Gases & Human Activities

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Human Activities and Greenhouse Gases

Certain human activities cause the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases to increase:

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Burning fossil fuels

  • Burning fossil fuels releases carbon, in the form of carbon dioxide. This carbon dioxide had been stored away for millions of years previously.
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Deforestation

  • As we cut down more and more trees, the global rate of photosynthesis will decrease.
  • Given that carbon dioxide is a reactant in the equation for photosynthesis, this means that less carbon dioxide will be removed from the atmosphere by this process.
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Landfill sites

  • The number and size of landfill sites is increasing.
  • This means that more mounds of waste are decomposing.
    • This process of decomposition releases methane, which is a greenhouse gas.
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Agriculture

  • Farm animals release methane during digestion.
  • As the global population continues to rise, the scale of agriculture is increasing. This means that more methane is being released into the atmosphere by livestock.

Jump to other topics

1Atomic Structure

2Chemical Bonding

3Quantitative Chemistry

4Chemical Changes

5Energy Changes

6The Rate & Extent of Chemical Change

7Organic Chemistry

8Chemical Analysis

9Chemistry of the Atmosphere

10Using Resources

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