SF6 is the most potent global warming gas known to man. This gas is used widely in the electrical industry to quell the arc of high voktage electrical switching apperatus. Over a 100 year period,SF6 is nearly 24,000 times more effective at trapping infrared radiation than the equivalent amout of carbon dioxide (CO2)and where CO2 has a lifespan of 90 years sf6 lasts 3200 years.Venting one pound of sf6 (opening a cylander for approximately 10 seconds) has the same enviromental impact of 11 tons of co2. Thats 2 years worth of driving your honda. Globally on an annual basis, between 5000 and 6000 tons are discharged into the atmosphere. Do the math that's the equivelent of 110 million tons of co2...into our atmosphere yearly....