Humans are contributing to global warming in more ways than previously thought
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.029646
Washington Post : Carbon dioxide emissions are not the only culprit contributing to climate change. According to a recent study published in Nature, methane and nitrous oxide emissions are also on the rise due to increased human activity, such as animal agriculture, rice cultivation, and waste disposal. What’s more, those gases are much more potent: “Methane global warming potential is 28 times larger than carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide is 265 times greater than carbon dioxide,” says Hanqin Tian of Auburn University, one of the study’s coauthors. However, methane lives in the atmosphere for just 12 years and nitrous oxide for about 114 years, compared with CO2, which can hang around for thousands of years. One way to weaken global warming, at least in the short term, say the authors, would be to alter food production methods.