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based on all the means we have to measure them. At the same time, they are all naturally occurring.

Greenhouse gases also have their worth. Without them, the earth would be a frozen ball. There are enough greenhouse gases to trap heat to make this world habitable.

So why is there so much concern about greenhouse gases? The answer is that again, in concentration, they can cause problems. Too much of a good thing is seldom good. If there were a sudden increase in greenhouse gases, global temperatures would soar.

There isn't such an increase, and it isn't likely there will be since there is a finite amount of both carbon and sulfur, the main constituents of greenhouse gases other than water vapor. Both elements are strongly locked in to both water and rock.

All living things are also carbon based. This is a double-edged sword, though. A major forest fire releases thousands of tons of carbon into the atmosphere, and a volcanic eruption releases both carbon and sulfur. In fact, fires and eruptions produce more of both elements into the air than any other source, by far. In fact, in a closed system like ours, man doesn't have the ability to release as much of either, in the quantities that nature does.

Understanding what greenhouse gases really are, is the first step to becoming enlightened about the controversies. Without this knowledge, nobody can even make an informed guess. That doesn't stop the uninformed guesses, though.

Learn more about this author, Rex Trulove.
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