The four main greenhouse gases that cause global warming are:
- CO2 (carbon dioxide)
- CH4 (methane)
- O3 (ozone) and
- NO (nitrous oxide)
The four main greenhouse gases that support the natural greenhouse effect are:- H2O (water vapor)
- CO2 (carbon dioxide)
- CH4 (methane) and
- NO (nitrous oxide)
The difference is that a greenhouse gas traps heat, which helps regulate earth's temperature, but is not necessarily contributing to increasing temperatures. "Global warming" gases are those whose atmospheric increase are NOT primarily from natural sources.