HSLS Pitt Public Health Liaison
HSLS Research & Instruction Librarian
Let's answer the 2nd question first: Greenhouse gases are those gases that act as a greenhouse to the planet. When we have too much of these gases in our atmosphere, the result is an increase in temperature. Many scientific articles now refer to "climate change" rather than "global warming". Yes, the temperatures are rising overall but this affects local weather patterns differently. For example, there may be extreme snowfalls in some parts of the country-- or the highest temperatures on record in other parts.
Greenhouse gases are made up of 6 air pollutants.
Carbon Dioxide (CO 2) | Nitrous Oxide (N2O) | |
Methane (CH 4) | Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) | |
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) | Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF 6) |
The Most Detailed Map of Auto Emissions in America is a must see! View auto emissions and increase in driving by metropolitan areas.
The reports and data resources produced by the GHG Reporting Program include:
Reports | GHG Reporting Data Sets | |
---|---|---|
Inventory of US Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, 1990-2017 (PDF) |
Envirofacts GHG search: Find data for a specific facility. This is a very EASY site to use! Search by facility name or do a broad search by geography (zip code, city, county, state), and NAICS Code. |
|
Data highlights | Keys Facts & Figures |
2018 data summary spreadsheets (large zipped file) 2017 data summary spreadsheets (large zipped file) |
Power Plants | Waste | Facility Level Information on GreenHouse Gases Tool (FLIGHT) Interactive mapping tool that provides data down to the facility level. |
Petroleum & Natural Gas Systems | Metals | |
Refineries | Minerals | |
Chemicals | Pulp & Paper |
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Climate Change
Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions (US EPA)
These reports use data from the IPCC (see the box on the right) as well as other sources.
International Panel of Climate Change (IPCC)
This United Nations agency is responsible for assessing climate change science. The IPCC reports have examined climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems. Some of their more current reports are listed below.
This image on the right shows the top part of a report of greenhouse gas data for 2017 for the Clairton Coke (US Steel) facility.
Location information is provided (physical address as well as latitude and longitude), NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) Code is given (many of the enviro systems let you look up by that code), and additional company information.
The total amount of GHG's are given with additional details lower down on the page.