Letters

Dear Editor,

The four worst greenhouse gases emitted from human activity that cause climate change are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and tropospheric ozone (O3). I propose four new annual days to bring awareness to each of these greenhouse gases and to cause people and organizations to reconsider their activities that are causing emission of these greenhouse gases.

The atomic number of a chemical element is the number of protons in the nucleus of each atom of that element. The atomic number uniquely identifies each element. In the periodic table of elements, elements are arranged from left to right and top to bottom in order of increasing atomic number.

A carbon dioxide molecule (CO2) consists of a carbon (C) atom and two oxygen atoms (O2). Carbon (C) has an atomic number of 6 and is the 6th element in the periodic table of elements. Oxygen (O) has an atomic number of 8 and is the 8th element in the periodic table of elements. To assign a date for CO2, 8 for the position of oxygen in the periodic table is bonded to 6 for the position of carbon in the periodic table. The latter is bonded to 8 for the position of oxygen in the periodic table. The result is 868. The 868th date from January 1 at midnight not considering leap years is May 18. Therefore, May 18 each year is assigned as Carbon Dioxide Day or CO2 Day.

A methane molecule (CH4) consists of a carbon atom (C) and four hydrogen atoms (H4). Carbon (C) has an atomic number of 6 and is the 6th element in the periodic table of elements. Hydrogen (H) has an atomic number of 1 and is the 1st element in the periodic table of elements. To assign a date for CH4, 6 for the position of carbon in the periodic table is bonded to 1 four times where 1 is the position of hydrogen in the periodic table. The result is 61111. The 61111th date from January 1 at midnight not considering leap years is June 5. Therefore, June 5 annually is assigned as Methane Day or CH4 Day.

A nitrous oxide molecule (N2O) consists of two nitrogen atoms (N2) and an oxygen atom (O). Nitrogen (N) has an atomic number of 7 and is the 7th element in the periodic table of elements. Oxygen (O) has an atomic number of 8 and is the 8th element in the periodic table of elements. To assign a date for N2O, 7 for the position of nitrogen in the periodic table is bonded to 7 for the position of nitrogen. The latter is bonded to 8 for the position of oxygen in the periodic table. The result is 778. The 778th date from January 1 at midnight not considering leap years is February 17. Therefore, February 17 each year is assigned as Nitrous Oxide Day or N2O Day.

An ozone molecule (O3) consists of three oxygen atoms (O3). Oxygen (O) has an atomic number of 8 and is the 8th element in the periodic table of elements. To assign a date for O3, 8 for the position of oxygen in the periodic table is bonded to 8 for the position of oxygen. The latter is bonded to 8 for the position of oxygen in the periodic table. The result is 888. The 888th date from January 1 at midnight not considering leap years is June 7. Therefore, June 7 annually is assigned as Tropospheric Ozone Day or O3 Day.

Each year, Nitrous Oxide Day on February 17, Carbon Dioxide Day on May 18, Methane Day on June 5, and Tropospheric Ozone Day on June 7 should cause countless people and organizations to reconsider their activities that cause emissions of these greenhouse gases and climate change.

Sincerely,

Ashu M.G. Solo
amgsolo@mavericktechnologies.us

These contributions have not been peer-refereed. They represent solely the view(s) of the author(s) and not necessarily the view of APS.