What is the Greenhouse Effect and How to Reduce it?

Natural processes that have been in balance for thousands of years are being destroyed by various external factors. As a result of this destruction, the frequency of unexpected natural events is increasing. The formation of the greenhouse effect is also a result of direct or indirect damage to nature. Although its current damages are unknown, the greenhouse effect threatens living things in the long term. So, what is the greenhouse effect? Let us examine in detail the causes, consequences and how to reduce the greenhouse effect.

What is the Greenhouse Effect?

The Earth warms up by trapping the sun’s rays reflected from the Earth’s surface in the atmosphere. The greenhouse effect is when the reflected sunlight is captured by greenhouse gases, and the warm air is kept inside, just like in a greenhouse. So, the greenhouse effect is a natural process.

When the greenhouse effect remains a “natural greenhouse effect”, it is a necessary condition for the earth. The greenhouse effect is a natural and essential process for the planet to warm up and maintain its current temperature. What makes the greenhouse effect dangerous is the disruption of natural processes and the increase in human-induced greenhouse gas emissions. Ninety percent of greenhouse gases are created as a result of human activities.

Greenhouse gases such as methane, water vapor, carbon dioxide, carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, aerosols and diazo monoxide must exist in the natural ecosystem. Although the amounts of these gases in the atmosphere are small, their effects on weather and temperature are undeniable. These gases are needed to keep the earth at a certain temperature.

Why Does the Greenhouse Effect Occur?

Many activities conducted by people in their individual lives cause the greenhouse effect to increase. In addition, the activities of industrial organizations, and chemical and biological processes occurring in nature also cause the greenhouse effect.

Some of the reasons that cause the greenhouse effect are as follows:

• An increase in the amount of carbon dioxide as a result of the destruction of forested areas,
• Fossil fuel use,
• Gases released into the air from vehicle exhausts,
• Commonly used perfumes and deodorants,
• Irregular use of agricultural land and soil,
• Unconscious grazing of animals,
• Chemical processes and dissolution in soil,
• The production of methane gas from the garbage accumulated in wild landfills,
• Disruption of nitrogen and carbon cycle balances,
• Industrial organizations ignoring environmental pollution protocols,
• Increased plankton because of degradation of the aquatic ecosystem,
• Unconscious product selection and overconsumption.

Greenhouse Gases and Their Effects

Greenhouse gases make up only 1% of the gases in the atmosphere. However, the impact of each gas is greater than its quantity. Changing the volume of even one greenhouse gas in the atmosphere exacerbates the greenhouse effect. To understand how the greenhouse effect can be reduced, it is necessary to examine in detail what greenhouse gases are and their effects.

Water Vapor

Compared to other greenhouse gases, water vapor is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere. At the same time, the volume of water vapor in the atmosphere is more variable than other gases. However, this rate does not exceed approximately 4%. Water vapor could retain excess heat and carbon dioxide on Earth. Therefore, it is an effective greenhouse gas.

As water passes from one phase to another (such as from water-to-water vapor or ice), it absorbs or releases heat. This is referred to as latent heat. Water vapor in the atmosphere allows latent heat to move from one region to another. The increased latent heat is transported, causing severe weather events such as storms, hurricanes, or tropical cyclones. Water vapor is therefore linked to global warming.

Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is the most well-known greenhouse gas and the one most emitted into the atmosphere by human activities. It is important to monitor and prevent an increase in its amount. It is emitted into the atmosphere through fossil fuel use, industrial activities, plant respiration and decomposition of organic matter. Carbon dioxide, which has an extremely low sequestration rate, is powerful in capturing the energy emitted by the earth. That’s why it causes the world to warm up. Therefore, an increase in its amount triggers the greenhouse effect.

The Mauna Loa Observatory is located on the Mauna Loa volcano on the big island of Hawaii. There is a carbon dioxide device that has been measuring regularly since 1958. When the measurement results of the device are analyzed, it is seen that the rate of carbon dioxide has increased from the past to the present. Developing technology and increasing industrialization can be shown as the main reasons for this.

Carbon dioxide has the highest share of greenhouse gases. This share accounts for 76% of the greenhouse effect. Some of this amount is absorbed by the oceans or used by plants for photosynthesis. However, about half of anthropogenic (human-caused) carbon dioxide emissions remain in the atmosphere. Therefore, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and removing excess carbon from the atmosphere is critical to efforts to prevent human-induced climate change.

Methane

Methane can occur in nature through anthropogenic or natural processes. Methane gas is naturally released when decay and decomposition occur in an oxygen-free environment. Microorganism activities in wetlands, gastric fermentation of wild or domestic animals, etc., create natural methane emissions.

Methane gas is released because of human activities such as urban dumps, agricultural activities, and biomass burning. According to one study, 50-65% of methane gas is caused by human activities. The biggest causes of methane gas increase are paddy farming, cattle breeding, and garbage dumps.

Methane, which has a 16% share of greenhouse gas emissions, is 25 times more effective in global warming than carbon dioxide. Its high capacity to trap infrared radiation is the main reason for this.

Methane has a shorter residence time in the atmosphere compared to other greenhouse gases. This period has been reported as 11 years. However, the amount of methane reaching the atmosphere from natural sources depends on many factors such as temperature and precipitation. In addition, the rapid thawing of frozen soils in cold regions triggered by global warming may cause a sudden and high release of methane.

Diazo monoxide

Diazo monoxide, whose most important source is soil, reaches the atmosphere through biological processes. Another source is the oceans. Since nitrogen oxides are both released and dissolved in soil, it is difficult to examine this source. Nevertheless, it is known that most of the methane gas emitted originates from soil.

Nitrogen-containing fertilization processes used for agricultural activities increase the release of diazo monoxides in the soil. Biomass burning and the use of fossil fuels also play a role in the release of diazo monoxide, although not as much as fertilization.

Chlorofluorocarbons

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) that cause depletion of the ozone layer are among the greenhouse gases. These chemically inactive, stable gases tend to cling when spread into the atmosphere. They are difficult to remove. They are released into the atmosphere by human activities. All of the different types of chlorofluorocarbons have a long residence time in the atmosphere. This period can extend up to 130 years.

Chlorofluorocarbons have a proven ozone-depleting effect. Most of the ozone gas is found in the stratosphere. The use of chlorofluorocarbons (tools and substances such as aerosol sprayers, foam sprayers, refrigerants, and solvents) affects the amount of ozone in the atmosphere.

Increasing the amount of ozone gas trapped in the atmosphere causes climate change. With this determination, the “Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer” and then the “Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer” were established. These documents, signed by many countries, aim to work towards reducing CFCs. However, since these substances remain in the atmosphere for a long time, it will take a long time to see results.

Aerosols

Events in natural environments cause solid and liquid particles to be suspended in the air. Some of these particles are visible, while others are too small to be seen, micron sized. For example, it is possible to see the particles formed by dust storms coming from deserts with the wind. However, particles emitted into the air in a chemical process caused by human activities are too small to be seen. These particles can remain suspended in the air for extended periods.

Aerosols can be emitted into the atmosphere naturally or by man. The manufactured ones are fossil fuel use, forest fires, thermal power plants, cement factories, volcanic eruptions. Aerosols that can trap sunlight cause the greenhouse effect to increase.

Consequences of the Greenhouse Effect

The greenhouse effect causes problems in many different dimensions. The consequences of the greenhouse effect can be listed as follows:

• The balance of the seasons is disrupted, and temperatures increase.
• Rising temperatures trigger forest fires.
• Water resources are rapidly depleted and access to clean drinking water becomes difficult.
• Glaciers melt rapidly with increasing temperatures. Glacier melting raises sea levels and causes natural disasters such as floods.
• The balance of ecological life is disrupted.
• The drought effect destroys agricultural lands.
• Migrating animals may confuse their migration periods because of changing climates.
• Respiratory diseases increase with the increase in temperature and deterioration of air quality.
• As a result of the deterioration of soil structure, agriculture becomes barren. This leads to food shortages.
• Epidemics based on bacteria, viruses and similar organisms spread rapidly.
• The risk of landslides increases, and the soil loses its fertility.

How to Minimize the Greenhouse Effect

To reduce the greenhouse effect, the processes that cause the emission of greenhouse gases need to be examined in detail. Measures can be taken to reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.

Energy Sector

The energy sector is one of the sectors where the greenhouse effect has increased the most due to human activities. Sustainability practices in this field play an important role in reducing the greenhouse effect. The use of clean energy sources will be efficient at this stage.

Clean energy sources such as systems based on solar energy, utilization of wind energy, use of geothermal energy, and hydroelectric energy reduce the greenhouse effect. However, it is important not to confuse renewable energy with clean energy.

The detail that distinguishes clean energy from renewable energy is that greenhouse gas emissions do not occur in any way in energy production processes. For example, if greenhouse gas emissions occur at any point in energy production when you utilize geothermal energy, this may be a renewable energy source, but it cannot be a clean energy source.

Food Sector

Around a fifth of global carbon emissions come from raising livestock for meat. Improper feeding and breeding choices are the main reasons for this. In addition, the digestive functions of cattle and the methane gas they release also increase the greenhouse effect.

In addition, it is important to strengthen livestock fattening by preventing pasture animal husbandry. In this way, unconscious animal grazing can be prevented, and both the protection of grazing areas and unnecessary feeding can be eliminated.

The waste of food products and the transportation costs of these products also have a prominent place in greenhouse gas emissions. Considerable progress can be made by spreading conscious consumption habits and supporting local production.

Transportation Sector

Many vehicles used in transportation trigger greenhouse gas emissions. Although the production of electrically powered vehicles has accelerated in recent years, the greenhouse effect has not been completely prevented.

Lifestyle changes such as using bicycles, preferring public transportation instead of individual vehicles, and choosing direct flights for air travel are some of the steps that can be taken individually.

Industry Sector

Manufacturing, mining raw materials and dealing with waste all require energy. Most of the products we buy are produced in factories, which account for around 20% of greenhouse gases emitted globally. Changes in production processes therefore have a significant role to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Using materials that do not emit greenhouse gases can be a good start. For example, bioplastics derived from plants can be an alternative to those derived from fossil fuels. In addition, industrial organizations can prefer clean energy sources in transportation processes.

In this area, filtering factory chimneys to prevent the greenhouse effect and using recyclable packaging products are among the important steps to be taken to prevent greenhouse gas emissions.

Waste Management in Living Spaces

Although it is stated that greenhouse gases are concentrated in landfills, the release of greenhouse gases because of improper waste management in our living spaces is also considerable. The most important greenhouse gas emitted from landfills is methane. Preventing overconsumption can be a major step to individually reduce emissions in this area.

Utilizing the peelings of any foodstuff, for example vegetables or fruits, and choosing less packaged products reduces waste and therefore greenhouse gas emissions. Choosing products with recyclable ingredients is also an effective method.

Gardening can reduce the purchase of products. In this way, the use of packaging will be reduced, and greenhouse gas emissions will be more controlled. In addition to all these, conscious afforestation will have positive results on the greenhouse effect as it will reduce the amount of carbon dioxide.

Efforts to Store Carbon Dioxide

One of the measures to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide, which has a major place in greenhouse gas emissions, is carbon dioxide capture and storage. This is the process of separating carbon dioxide from other flue gases, transporting it and isolating it from the atmosphere in the long term. Potential storage facilities include:

• Oil and natural gas fields,
• Underground coal mines where coal cannot be mined,
• Geological storage alternatives (such as underground salt pits),
• The bottom of the oceans

The Sleipner oil and gas field is in the middle of the North Sea, about 240 km off the Norwegian coast. Instead of being released into the atmosphere, the gas emissions from the field are planned to be contained in a 200-meter-thick sandstone known as the Utsira Formation. Although the amount of emissions avoided is a small fraction of the amount of emissions affecting the whole of Norway, it is an important first step.

There are similar studies in various parts of the world. In the Natuna field in the South China Sea, carbon dioxide in the natural gas content is planned to be underground. Work has also been conducted on undergrounding carbon dioxide in the Gorgon natural gas fields in Australia and Snøhvit in Norway, and in the North Slope oil fields in Alaska.

Work in this area continues. However, underground injection of the carbon dioxide emitted by the facilities requires a large technological system and energy. Although today’s technologies are sufficient for transportation and injection, a large amount of energy is needed to conduct the process. If methods that cause greenhouse gas emissions are used to meet this energy, it is difficult to talk about a general emission reduction.

All methods to reduce the greenhouse effect can be implemented by evaluating their feasibility. In this context, raising public awareness and raising awareness on this issue is of vital importance. Innovative solutions and sustainable practices in combating the greenhouse effect are necessary to minimize environmental damage.

If you want to protect the future of the world with the processes you conduct in your business and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in all your processes, you can start by calculating the corporate footprint of your business. With the software we offer as QuickCarbon, you can access calculations and reports made according to ISO 14064-1:2018 Standard and GHG Protocol without the need for any consultancy service. In light of the data you obtain, you can evaluate what you can do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.