![]() In fact, a few countries have managed to become carbon negative countries that remove even more CO 2 from the air than they add to it. Many countries have pledged to use these and other steps to become carbon neutral, which means they remove as much CO 2 as they release. Methods often employed include generating electricity from renewable energy sources (solar, wind, hydroelectric) instead of fossil fuels, improving energy efficiency, promoting biofuels in transportation, reducing CO 2 emissions from vehicles, recovering greenhouse gases such as methane from landfills and smokestacks, charging a carbon tax on industries that emit GHGs, and reversing deforestation. Nations can reduce their carbon footprint in many ways. Industries such as manufacturing and meat production are also noted contributors. This is largely due to their more robust energy industries, which burn large amounts of fossil fuels to provide electricity, and a larger percentage of residents who own their own automobiles, which contribute greatly to emissions. Generally, developed nations have higher carbon footprints and higher CO 2 emissions per country. When discussing emissions on a national or global scale, carbon footprint is typically expressed in units of CO 2-typically metric tons (1,000 kg/2,205 lb = 1 t), million tons (1,000,000 t = 1 Mt) or gigatons (1 billion metric tons/1,000 Mt = 1 GT). This is the scenario unfolding at present, with the main contributor of greenhouse gases being emissions caused by excessive consumption of fossil fuels. ![]() ![]() However, an overabundance of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere can disrupt Earth’s carbon cycle and accelerate global warming. Greenhouse gases are important in maintaining the Earth’s habitable temperature. A greenhouse gas (GHG) is a gas that absorbs and emits thermal radiation, creating a “greenhouse effect” that traps heat near the Earth’s surface and ultimately warms the planet. A carbon footprint is a measure of the total greenhouse gas emissions (primarily carbon dioxide and methane) caused by an individual, community, event, organization, service, product, or nation. ![]()
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