Question: does the erruption of one volcano cause more green house gas emissions than modern man in one year?

  1. Interesting question.
    Even without looking anything up, I know the answer is no! Thinking about it from 1st principles to come up with the answer, you can consider a couple of things.
    1. Large volcanoes would most likely produce the most green house gas
    2. There would have to be A LOT of “active” volcanoes to contribute to an increase in green house gas levels.

    So, I don’t know of any large and active volcanoes that are erupting as we speak! There are underground volcanoes that should also be considered, but I doubt that the levels that ALL of these release would even be a small percentage of the “damage” that humans do.

    And after checking it up, it seems that in fact “Greenhouse gas emissions from volcanoes comprise less than 1% of those generated by today’s human endeavors”. We also put volcanoes to shame when it comes to CO2 emissions too… So there we go!

    When considering greehouse gases and CO2 emissions, don’t forget that we have so much live-stock that are bred for food. And boy do they like to contribute (if you know what I mean – it rhymes with “part”!) 😉

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  2. Yep, Yashar is right.

    Less than 1% of the total greenhouse gas emissions each year come from volcanoes.
    It’s truly amazing to think that we are responsible for the rest, more than 24 billion tonnes each year!

    Guess it means that we all need to do our part, and make sure we are good to the Earth! 🙂

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