APES global climate change

albedo

Ability of a surface to reflect light

cap and trade

a method for managing pollution in which a limit is placed on emissions and businesses or countries can buy and sell emissions allowances

carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas

Highest concentration, and has the longest possible lifetime in the atmosphere but has a low GWP. Its lifetime makes it worrisome. GWP of 1

Carbon Sequestration

an approach to stabilizing greenhouse gases by removing CO2 from the atmosphere

CFCs

Man made chemicals used as coolants and propellants in aerosols. Potent greenhouse gases that also lead to depletion of the ozone layer.

global climate change

changes in the average weather that occurs in an area over a period of years or decades

global warming

An increase in the average temperature of the earth's atmosphere (especially a sustained increase that causes climatic changes)

Global Warming Potential (GWP)

a number that represents the relative contribution of a molecule of the atmospheric gas to global warming

greenhouse effect

the trapping of the sun's warmth in a planet's lower atmosphere due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet's surface.

greenhouse gases

Gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor, and ozone in the atmosphere which are involved in the greenhouse effect.

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)

Chemicals containing hydrogen, fluorine, and carbons, produced as potential substitutes for CFCs

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Established in 1988 by two United Nations organizations to assess the risk of human-induced climate change.

Kyoto Protocol

an amendment to the international treaty on climate change designed to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by developed countries

Methane (CH4)

Methane contributes to the greenhouse effect. Since 1750, methane has increased about 150% due to use of fossil fuels, coal mining, landfills, grazers, etc.

-stays in atmosphere 12 years

N2O as a greenhouse gas

𝑁2𝑂 is a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential nearly 300 times greater than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period.

water vapor

traps heat radiating from the Earth's surface and contributes to about half of the natural greenhouse effect.