Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Dangers to the Global Environment


What is the Greenhouse Effect?
  • It is a naturally occurring process.
  • It is increased by carbon dioxide, water vapor, and methane which are able to change the energy balance of the planet by absorbing longwave radiation emitted from the Earth's surface.
  • Naturally, 26% of the sun's energy is reflected or scattered back to space by clouds and other atmospheric particles.
  • About 19% of the energy available is absorbed by clouds, gases (like ozone), and particles in the atmosphere.
  • Of the remaining 55% of the solar energy passing through the Earth's atmosphere, 4% is reflected from the surface back to space. On average, about 51% of the Sun's radiation reaches the surface.
  • When greenhouse gases are present in the atmosphere, they absorb the sun's heat, trapping it near the surface and heating the ground.
  • Carbon Dioxide is the main greenhouse gas.
  • Greenhouse gas levels have increased since the industrial revolution.
Types of Greenhouse Gases
  • Since 1750, methane concentrations in the atmosphere have increased by more than 150%.
  • The primary sources for the additional methane added to the atmosphere are rice cultivation, domestic grazing animals, termites, landfills, coal mining, and oil and gas extraction.
  • Nitrous Oxide is now increasing at a rate of 0.2 to 0.3% per year.
  • Most of the nitrous oxide added to the atmosphere each year comes from deforestation and the conversion of forest, savanna and grassland ecosystems into agricultural fields and rangeland.

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