Whether you believe in global warming or not, human production of greenhouse gases are well documented. It's the debate over the link to global warming and the introduction of gases into the atmosphere that is experiencing such a violent balancing act.
The impact of human footprints on greenhouse gas emissions comes from the following six sources:
- Burning of fossil fuels produces more than 3 billion metric tons of additional greenhouse emissions annually, specifically for energy production. Hence the push for renewables such as solar, wind and hydro for electricity generation.
- Vehicle emissions - Nearly 20 perecent of total carbon footprint.
- Airplane contrails - Fluffy, white cloud trails are not magical folks, more like an estimated 2-3 percent of carbon emissions.
- Decomposition in landfills releases methane, nitrogen and other greenhouse gases.
- Deforestation of more than 30 million acres of forest annually.
- Soil trapped under slowly-thawing tundra in places like Alaska and Canada is releasing long dormant and trapped gases. Slow indeed, but a contributor nonetheless.
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