Human Processes and “Persons” Responsible for Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Please respond to the following questions: After reviewing the pages in Michael Bradshaw’s book, the World GHG Emissions Flow Chart and the data charts and tables from the International Energy Agency, British Petroleum’s annual statistical review and Richard Heede’s article, you have gathered sufficient information to reach some assessment about how the world crossed the threshold in 2013, when 400ppm of atmospheric CO2 was reached. Leave aside the non-human arguments about relative causality in global warming, such as Robert Silverberg’s claim that solar cycles and bovine methane emissions matter as much as human GHG emissions, and focus instead on those human, political actors and activities that emit greenhouse gases. After reviewing these publications addressing GHG emissions and human activities, create an initial response post that addresses the questions below. You must draw on and cite evidence from the readings in your initial post. You should use numeric and/or graphic evidence from these sources to draw your inferences about what is occurring. You should be explicit when you draw logical inferences from the data presented in the readings, and you should take care to weigh the evidence you present in your own assessment.
- How is human energy use responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, particularly CO2 emissions, and how does energy resource use compare with other human sources of greenhouse gas emissions in terms of scale or importance?
- Which specific energy actors and activities are most responsible for greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, and do you believe these can be reduced dramatically?
