Figure 1. How Does CO2 Compare To Other Climate Drivers?
(click image to enlarge) Carbon dioxide (CO2), more than any other climate driver, has contributed the most to climate change between 1750 and 2005.[4] CO2 sticks around. CO2 remains in the atmosphere longer than the other major heat-trapping gases emitted as a result of human activities. It takes about a decade for methane (CH4) emissions to leave the atmosphere (it converts into CO2) and about a century for nitrous oxide (N2O).[3] In the case of CO2, much of today’s emissions will be gone in a century, but about 20 percent will still exist in the atmosphere approximately 800 years from now.[3] This literally means that the heat-trapping emissions we release today from our cars and power plants are setting the climate our children and grandchildren will inherit. CO2’s long life in the atmosphere provides the clearest possible rationale for reducing our CO2 emissions without delay. What about water vapor? Water vapor is the most abundant heat-trapping gas, but rarely discussed when con
