Carbon dioxide emissions are released during fuel combustion and are a major environmental concern due to their impact on global warming. Man-made emissions from power plants and automobiles are the main culprits. Efforts to reduce emissions focus on alternative fuels and cleaner technologies for power plants.
Carbon dioxide emissions are those resulting from the fuel combustion process resulting in the creation of carbon dioxide. It is made up of two oxygen atoms and one carbon atom. Although carbon dioxide exists in all three states of matter – gas, solid and liquid – the emissions are always in gaseous form. Carbon dioxide emissions can also be called carbon emissions. Carbon dioxide emissions are considered an environmental problem due to their influence on the Earth’s greenhouse effect.
When carbon-based fossil fuels are burned, the resulting carbon dioxide emissions are released into the atmosphere. The gas is odorless, colorless and relatively harmless. Carbon dioxide is only dangerous when it replaces all the oxygen in a small area. At that point, it could cause asphyxiation. The gas is normally released into the atmosphere by animal life and consumed by plant life.
Although carbon gas emissions arise from natural processes, this is thought to be counteracted by a natural balance the Earth makes. The greatest concern concerns mechanical emissions of anthropic origin. The most common of those specifically man-made emissions come from automobiles and carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. For decades, the United States has led the way in carbon dioxide emissions. In 2006, for the first time, China surpassed the United States in carbon emissions, attributed in part to the aggressive construction of coal-fired plants the country was undertaking.
Most of the attention on carbon dioxide emissions focuses on its role in global warming. Although it is a minor gas in the atmosphere and a minor player among global warming gases, its influence is thought to be significant. Even though water vapor accounts for 95% of the Earth’s greenhouse effect, many scientists and politicians believe that the amount of carbon dioxide added by man has tipped the balance towards a progressive warming trend. Therefore, the focus has been on how to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
To reduce emissions, efforts have focused on the two main culprits: coal-fired power plants and automobiles. The traditional methods of reducing vehicle emissions have been fuel economy and cleaner fuels. Cleaner fuels, however, do little to actually reduce carbon dioxide, although they can reduce many other pollutants. The current effort is more focused on alternative fuels, such as electricity and fuel cells. Coal-fired plants are the other factor. While clean coal technology has focused on carbon scrubbers, the technology is not yet ready for practical use. Other types of power plants, such as nuclear, wind and natural gas, are preferred by some, due to lower or no carbon dioxide emissions.
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