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Greenhouse Gases
Tue May 14, 2002
Listen in RealAudio 
Okay it's time to play the "What Is" game.
Ready? I'm host Bryan Yeaton of the Tuesday climate change series for The Weather
Notebook. We are joined by two lovely contestants who refuse to give their
names.
Okay, Here's the first question:
What are chorofluorocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons perfluorocarbons and the
halons?
Uh, Um, flowers?
Buzzer.
No, Greenhouse gases.
Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Nitrous Oxide Ozone and Water Vapor?
Uhh, greenhouse gases?
Ding Ding.
That's right, they are all greenhouse gases, so called because when the heat from the
sun is radiated back from the earth, these gases trap heat in the atmosphere, keeping
things warmer -- hence, the" greenhouse effect." Some are manmade and some are
naturally occurring.
Ice Core Researcher Cameron Wake of the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and
Space at the University of New Hampshire says greenhouse gases are a very
important control for the earth's climate system.
CW: If we didn't have any greenhouse gases the surface temperature in the earth
would be approximately 50 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than it is. So greenhouse gases
are good. They have allowed for the evolution of life on earth.
Good and maybe not so good if there's too much of them. George Hurtt is an Assistant
Professor at the Institute. Amounts of CO2 have jumped by 30% since the late
1800s.
GH: That increase in concentration is adding what we call a radiative forcing to the
planet. More heat energy to the lower part of the atmosphere and what we've observed
is that the temperature of the planet is actually warming.
More in our report next week.
The Weather Notebook is a production of the Mount Washington Observatory. This
special series is supported by the New England Science Center Collaborative and the
Roy A. Hunt Foundation. For more on the topic, go to our website at
www.weathernotebook.org. Thanks today to Producer Margaret Landsman.
Today's Links
More Information
http://www.eos.sr.unh.edu/About/News/Articles?NEWS_ID=24
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