TERRIBLE HARM GAS FLARING DOES
Dave Ikiedei Asei
19/01/2023
WHAT IS GAS FLARING.
Burning of natural gas in connection with oil extraction is known as gas flaring. Since the start of oil production more than 160 years ago, the practice has endured. It occurs as a result of a variety of factors, including market and economic limits, a lack of suitable regulation, and a lack of political will. Flaring is a massive waste of a precious natural resource that ought to be either conserved or put to good use, like producing electricity. For instance, the 144 billion cubic meters of gas that are being flared annually could provide energy to all of sub-Saharan Africa.
NEGATIVE EFFECTS
Gas flaring, the burning of excess natural gas that is a byproduct of oil production, can have negative effects on both human health and the environment. The combustion of natural gas releases pollutants into the air, including carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides, which can contribute to air pollution and climate change.
GREENHOUSE EFFECT, AND HOW IT WORKS
Greenhouse gases on Earth trap heat in the atmosphere, warming the whole globe. The primary gases that cause the greenhouse effect include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor
We are enhancing the planet's natural greenhouse effect and accelerating global warming by increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
TOP 5 GREENHOUSE GASES
The following gases are the most important ones that contribute to global warming by way of the greenhouse effect, according to Mellisa Danchake:
Dioxide of Carbon
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a long-lasting gas that makes up around 76 percent of all emissions that are created by humans. After being released into the atmosphere, 40% of it is still present after 100 years, 20% after 1,000 years, and 10% even after 10,000 years.
METHANE
Despite being in the atmosphere for only around ten years, methane (CH4) has a significantly greater warming effect than carbon dioxide. In fact, over a 100-year period, its impact on global warming is 25 times greater than that of carbon dioxide, pound for pound. In the entire world, it is responsible for roughly 16% of greenhouse gas emissions.
NITROUS OXIDE
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse gas with a GWP that is 300 times more than carbon dioxide on a 100-year time frame. It also has an average atmospheric lifetime of just over a century. Around 6% of the world's emissions of greenhouse gases are caused by humans.
GAS FLUORINATED
Fluorinated gases are created by humans and released via a range of industrial and manufacturing operations. Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), and nitrogen trifluoride are the four main groups (NF3).
Fluorinated gases trap a lot more heat despite being produced in lower quantities than other greenhouse gases (they only make up 2% of man-made global greenhouse gas emissions). In fact, these gases have high global warming potentials (GWPs) that can range from thousands to tens of thousands and extended atmospheric lifetimes—up to tens of thousands of years in some circumstances.
HFCs are typically used in air conditioners and freezers to replace ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), while some are being phased out due to their high GWP. One of the most significant climatic initiatives the world can take is to replace these HFCs and dispose of them correctly.
H2O VAPOUR
The most prevalent greenhouse gas overall, water vapor differs from other greenhouse gases in that variations in atmospheric concentrations are more closely related to the warming caused by other greenhouse gases than to human activity itself. Water is more soluble in warm air. Additionally, more water absorbs more heat since water vapor is a greenhouse gas, leading to even more warming and creating a positive feedback loop. (It should be noted, though, that the overall effect of this feedback loop is still unknown, as rising water vapor also raises the amount of cloud cover that reflects solar radiation away from the earth.
HARM TO LIFE AND ENVIRONMENTS
Exposure to these pollutants can have detrimental effects on human health, including respiratory problems, heart disease, and cancer. Gas flaring can also harm local ecosystems and wildlife, and can contribute to desertification by depleting the soil of moisture.
ECONOMIC LOSS
It is also a waste of valuable energy source and cause loss of revenue to the country where it happens. If the flared gas is saved, it could provide huge revenue to the economy’s Snyder country.
SOLUTIONS
Our next article will discuss some solutions to this problem of Gas flaring.
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