This results in an overall increase in global warming. There are about thirty known greenhouse gases of which the most common are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, CFCs and surface ozone. Carbon Dioxide Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It is estimated that one coal-fired power station can release 16 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere per minute. Plants use up carbon dioxide in the atmosphere during photosynthesis and release oxygen.
Forests are one of the most effective converters of carbon dioxide into plant food.
To counteract the increase in carbon dioxide by human activity the number of forests would have to increase dramatically. In fact the opposite is happening. Tropical rainforests are being destroyed at an alarming rate. Methane Methane is approximately twenty times more effective than carbon dioxide in absorbing energy from the sun. Methane is produced when bacteria break down organic matter in the absence of oxygen.