The Lion Premium Grills Refrigerator is environmentally friendly! Other refrigerators commonly use a refrigerant known as R-134a. Recent studies from the EPA and other scientific agencies have found this refrigerant to cause significantly more environmental warming than carbon dioxide per gram with a potential warming effect of 1,410. What does this mean exactly? It means that the release of one gram of R-134a is equivalent to the release of 1,410 grams of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In comparison, Freon 12, which was the most common refrigerant used throughout the 90s, has a rating of roughly 8,500. In addition to these negative environmental impacts, many units emitted extremely harmful CFCs (chlorofluorocarbon compounds) which were common in refrigerators during this period of time.