Global Climate Change

Greenhouse gases are gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. Many chemical compounds found in the earth’s atmosphere act as greenhouse gases. These gases allow sunlight to enter the atmosphere. When sunlight strikes the earth’s surface, some of it is reflected back towards space as infrared radiation (heat). Greenhouse gases absorb this heat and trap it. Some greenhouse gases, such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, are emitted to the atmosphere through natural processes and human activities. Others, such as gases for aerosols, are created and emitted only through human activities. Greenhouse gases naturally blanket the earth, keeping it warmer than if these gases were not in the atmosphere.This is called the “greenhouse effect.” It is named this because of a similar effect produced by the glass panes of a greenhouse.

Temperature increasing

The earth’s temperature has increased at a faster rate during the last century than ever before. Some scientists believe this is because of an increase in concentration ofthe main greenhouse gases:carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorocarbons.These rising temperatures may produce changes in weather, sea levels, and land-use patterns. Some people refer to this “climate change” during the past century as “global warming.”Studies generally show that human activity is a key contributor in global warming. This climate change is primarily from economic growth, fuel used for electricity generation, and weather patterns affecting heating and cooling needs. Other human contributors are landfills, coalmines, oil and gas operations, and agriculture.

Addressing the issues

We rely on oil and gas for transportation, heating and cooling, and for ingredients in medicines, plastics and a host of other items used in our everyday lives. We depend on them now, and will continue to depend on them for years to come. Emissions from their production and use may be contributing to the greenhouse effect of the atmosphere. Oil and gas companies are working to reduce these emissions. As a start, they are managing their own use of energy. They use technology to convert waste heat into energy, reducing energy consumption and emissions. They are also exploring (and in some cases marketing) alternative energy sources such as solar power, biofuels, geothermal energy, and wind power. They are setting goals for themselves and using new emissions estimation and tracking tools to assess if their goals are being met, andthey are reporting theirprogress to the public. Finally, they are partnering with major universities and research institutions by investing hundreds of millions of dollars in climate change research to improve our understanding of global warming and to advance the technologies that will help combat it. Visit the American Petroleum Institute to see how specific companies are addressing climate change.