Green House Effect

What is the Green house effect ?
The Earth is kept warm by its atmosphere, which acts rather like a woolly coat - without it, the average surface temperature would be about -18 degrees Centigrade. Heat from the sun passes through the atmosphere, warming it up, and most of it warms the surface of the planet. As the Earth warms up, it emits heat in the form of infra-red radiation - much like a hot pan emits heat even after it's taken away from the cooker. Some of this heat is trapped by the atmosphere, but the rest escapes into space. The so-called "greenhouse gases" make the atmosphere trap more of this radiation, so it gradually warms up more than it should, like a greenhouse (although a greenhouse actually does this by stopping warm air rising and escaping from it).
The greenhouse effect was discovered by Joseph Fourier in 1824, first reliably experimented on by John Tyndall in 1858, and first reported quantitatively by Svante Arrhenius in 1896.
The greenhouse effect is a naturally occurring process that aids in heating the Earth's surface and atmosphere. It results from the fact that certain atmospheric gases, such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, and methane, are able to change the energy balance of the planet by absorbing longwave radiation emitted from the Earth's surface. Without the greenhouse effect life on this planet would probably not exist as the average temperature of the Earth would be a chilly -18° Celsius, rather than the present 15° Celsius.


As energy from the Sun passes through the atmosphere a number of things take place.A portion of the energy (26% globally) 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.

The Earth receives energy from the Sun mostly in the form of visible light; about 50% of the sun's energy reaches the Earth and is absorbed by the surface. Like all bodies with a temperature above absolute zero the Earth's surface radiates energy in the infrared range. Greenhouse gases absorb infrared radiation and pass the absorbed heat to other atmospheric gases through molecular collisions. The greenhouse gases also radiate in the infrared range. Radiation is emitted both upward, with part escaping to space, and downward toward Earth's surface. The surface and lower atmosphere are warmed by the part of the energy that is radiated downward, making our life on earth possible.
Shortly described greenhouse gases



Greenhouse gases
Main article: Greenhouse gas
In order, Earth's most abundant greenhouse gases are:
• water vapor
• carbon dioxide
• methane
• nitrous oxide
• ozone
• CFCs
Real Climate ranks by their contribution to the greenhouse effect:
• water vapor, which contributes 36–70%
• carbon dioxide, which contributes 9–26%
• methane, which contributes 4–9%
• ozone, which contributes 3–7%












Annual (1987) quantity of outgoing long wave radiation absorbed in the atmosphere.

Absorption of longwave radiation by the atmosphere causes additional heat energy to be added to the Earth's atmospheric system. The now warmer atmospheric greenhouse gas molecules begin radiating longwave energy in all directions. Over 90% of this emission of longwave energy is directed back to the Earth's surface where it once again is absorbed by the surface. The heating of the ground by the longwave radiation causes the ground surface to once again radiate, repeating the cycle described above, again and again, until no more longwave is available for absorption.






TABLE 1.
The Important Greenhouse Gases (except water vapor)
U.S. Department of Energy, (October, 2000) (1)
(all concentrations expressed in parts per billion) Pre-industrial baseline Natural additions Man-made additions Total (ppb) Concentration Percent of Total
 Carbon Dioxide (CO2) 288,000 68,520 11,880 368,400 99.438%
 Methane (CH4) 848 577 320 1,745 0.471%
 Nitrous Oxide (N2O) 285 12 15 312 0.084%
 Misc. gases ( CFC's, etc.) 25 0 2 27 0.007%
 Total 289,158 69,109 12,217 370,484 100.00%


The chart at left summarizes the % of greenhouse gas concentrations in Earth's atmosphere from Table 1. This is not a very meaningful view though because 1) the data has not been corrected for the actual Global Warming Potential (GWP) of each gas, and 2) water vapor is ignored.
But these are the numbers one would use if the goal is to exaggerate human greenhouse contributions:
 Man-made and natural carbon dioxide (CO2) comprises 99.44% of all greenhouse gas concentrations (368,400 / 370,484 )--(ignoring water vapor).
Also, from Table 1 (but not shown on graph):
 Anthropogenic (man-made) CO2 additions comprise (11,880 / 370,484) or 3.207% of all greenhouse gas concentrations, (ignoring water vapor).
  Total combined anthropogenic greenhouse gases comprise (12,217 / 370,484) or 3.298% of all greenhouse gas concentrations, (ignoring water vapor).





TABLE 2.
Atmospheric Greenhouse Gases (except water vapor)
adjusted for heat retention characteristics, relative to CO2
This table adjusts values in Table 1 to compare greenhouse gases equally with respect to CO2. ( #'s are unit-less) Multiplier (GWP) Pre-industrial baseline(new) Natural additions (new) Man-made additions (new) Tot. Relative Contribution Percent of Total (new)
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) 1 288,000 68,520 11,880 368,400 72.369%
Methane (CH4) 21 (2) 17,808 12,117 6,720 36,645 7.199%
Nitrous Oxide (N2O) 310 (2) 88,350 3,599 4,771 96,720 19.000%
 CFC's (and other misc. gases) see data (3) 2,500 0 4,791 7,291 1.432%
 Total 396,658 84,236 28,162 509,056 100.000%

NOTE: GWP (Global Warming Potential) is used to contrast different greenhouse gases relative to CO2.


Compared to the concentration statistics in Table 1, the GWP comparison in Table 2 illustrates, among other things:
 Total carbon dioxide (CO2) contributions are reduced to 72.37% of all greenhouse gases (368,400 / 509,056)-- (ignoring water vapor).
Also, from Table 2 (but not shown on graph):
 Anthropogenic (man-made) CO2 contributions drop to (11,880 / 509,056) or 2.33% of total of all greenhouse gases, (ignoring water vapor).
 Total combined anthropogenic greenhouse gases becomes (28,162 / 509,056) or 5.53% of all greenhouse gas contributions, (ignoring water vapor).
 Relative to carbon dioxide the other greenhouse gases together comprise about 27.63% of the greenhouse effect (ignoring water vapor) but only about 0.56% of total greenhouse gas concentrations. Put another way, as a group methane, nitrous oxide (N2O), and CFC's and other miscellaneous gases are about 50 times more potent than CO2 as greenhouse gases.



Table 3, shows what happens when the effect of water vapor is factored in, and together with all other greenhouse gases expressed as a relative % of the total greenhouse effect.

TABLE 3.
Role of Atmospheric Greenhouse Gases
(man-made and natural) as a % of Relative
Contribution to the "Greenhouse Effect"
Based on concentrations (ppb) adjusted for heat retention characteristics Percent of Total Percent of Total --adjusted for water vapor
 Water vapor ----- 95.000%
 Carbon Dioxide (CO2) 72.369% 3.618%
 Methane (CH4) 7.100% 0.360%
Nitrous oxide (N2O) 19.000% 0.950%
 CFC's (and other misc. gases) 1.432% 0.072%
 Total 100.000% 100.000%



As illustrated in this chart of the data in Table 3, the combined greenhouse contributions of CO2, methane, N2O and misc. gases are small compared to water vapor!
Total atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) -- both man-made and natural-- is only about 3.62% of the overall greenhouse effect-- a big difference from the 72.37% figure in Table 2, which ignored water!
Water vapor, the most significant greenhouse gas, comes from natural sources and is responsible for roughly 95% of the greenhouse effect (4). Among climatologists this is common knowledge but among special interests, certain governmental groups, and news reporters this fact is under-emphasized or just ignored altogether.
Conceding that it might be "a little misleading" to leave water vapor out, they nonetheless defend the practice by stating that it is "customary" to do so!












The average concentration of nitrous oxide in the atmosphere is now increasing at a rate of 0.2 to 0.3% per year. Sources for this increase include land-use conversion; fossil fuel combustion; biomass burning; and soil fertilization. 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. Both of these processes reduce the amount of nitrogen stored in living vegetation and soil through the decomposition of organic matter. Nitrous oxide is also released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels and biomass are burned. However, the combined contribution of these sources to the increase of this gas in the atmosphere is thought to be minor. The use of nitrate and ammonium fertilizers to enhance plant growth is another source of nitrous oxide. Accurate measurements of how much nitrous oxide is being released from fertilization have been difficult to obtain. Estimates suggest that the contribution from this source may represent from 50% to 0.2% of nitrous oxide added to the atmosphere annually.























How You can Affect Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change
The Nobel Committee has recognized Al Gore for his many efforts to raise the awareness of greenhouse gases and their detrimental effects. You may not qualify for the Nobel Peace Prize - but you can begin your own personal crusade to save our planet.

The majority of the scientific community agrees. Man is adversely affecting the environment and accelerating global warming. Greenhouse gases created by our modern lifestyles are blanketing the Earth in a warming cocoon and causing an ugly metamorphosis - a planet riddled with severe weather, animal species extinctions, and an inhospitable environment for future generations.

Governments and industries are not reacting quickly. In our lifetime, the world as we know it may no longer exist. It is up to everyone to start making changes NOW, working together towards a common goal: the preservation of this glorious, beautiful world in which we live.

Quit overstuffing yourself at the table.

Huh? That is a strange statement! How can your eating habits have an effect on greenhouse gases?

There are a growing number of overweight and obese people in the so-called affluent countries. Have you ever considered where all those hamburgers, hot dogs, and chicken nuggets come from? Producers use prime agricultural land to cultivate grass and grain crops for feeding animals in the human food chain.

A single cow needs about five acres of pasture in order to thrive. During its lifetime, a cow can create truckloads of manure - manure that creates a considerable amount of methane (a greenhouse gas). The agricultural land required to raise one cow would feed humans more efficiently when devoted to crops like wheat and soybeans.

The meat we consume goes through several processing stages using a variety of materials - including paper, plastic, Styrofoam, and cardboard. Transportation to the slaughterhouse, processing plant, retail store, and then to the kitchen burns up energy and creates toxic greenhouse emissions.

All that extra food ultimately creates methane gas when it ends up in the sewer. In addition, each extra pound of fat on the body requires more oxygen to maintain, depleting a resource that plant life must replenish.

Give back some of the oxygen you breathe!

Plant life consumes carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) and produces life-giving oxygen. However, man clears forests and prime agricultural land to erect ever-higher skyscrapers. If we were to spend more time building down into the ground instead of up into the air or sprawling into the countryside, we would leave more surface area for agriculture and nature. Until architects embrace this concept, we can help replenish a bit of the Earth's oxygen by filling our lives with greenery.

Surround yourself with houseplants. Every balcony can have flowerboxes filled with beautiful oxygen-producing blooms. Apartments with flat roofs can have rooftop gardens. Business people can fill office buildings and retail establishments with live trees, hanging plant baskets, and exotic flowers. Even people with a 'brown thumb' can find easy-to-grow plants like philodendrons, cacti, spider plants, ivies, and African violets.

Reduce the impact of your trash.

Most landfills produce huge amounts of methane. Garbage produces methane gas when it decays in an anaerobic (oxygen-free) environment. Most landfills crush garbage and place it into a plastic-lined pit, then layer the trash with dirt and more garbage.

You can help prevent landfill methane production by composting as much as possible. Just about anything organic is compostable - potato peelings, coffee grounds, unsalted pasta water, moldy baked goods, etc. Avoid large items like whole potatoes and corncobs. You should chop them into smaller pieces before adding them to your compost bin. Avoid meat, oily or fatty substances, or anything prepared with appreciable amounts of salt.

Add finished compost to your houseplants and garden, or use it for lawn top-dressing to create lusciously healthy growth. You can purchase a commercial compost bin at your local department, hardware, or garden supply store. Alternatively, search the Internet for 'plans compost bin construction' if you would like to try building a bin from scratch.

You can add many unusual items to your compost:
• 100% cotton clothing (no buttons or zippers)
• 100% wool sweaters or socks
• brown paper bags
• burnt toast, cakes, potatoes
• corked or soured wine
• crushed eggshells
• dryer lint
• feathers and fur
• hair clippings
• junk mail (no plastic or metal)
• leather goods (metal and plastic pieces removed)
• pasta, cooked or uncooked (without the sauce)
• shells from almonds, peanuts, and walnuts
• shredded paper
• small pieces of cardboard
• small quantities of expired dairy products
• tea bags and coffee filters
• toenail and fingernail clippings
• vacuum cleaner bags and contents
• wooden skewers (broken into small pieces)
• wooden toothpicks
You can locate a more comprehensive list if you search the Net for 'things to add to compost'.

These tips are just a start. Keep watching for further informational articles in the days to come.
Kathy is a webmaster and author who writes articles for several sites. You can see more of her work at 111 Travel Directory, 1st Rate Articles and A Language Guide. Kathy enjoys writing German-English stories in parallel translation whenever she has a bit of free time.







Impact Of Melting Glaciers
The process of glaciers melting is normal; but the rate at which glaciers are melting today is abnormal. Snow is not able to replace the melting ice, causing many glaciers to become non-existent. The impacts of this trend are negative to humans, animals, birds, and fish that depend on fresh water from these melting glaciers.

How are Glaciers Formed
Glaciers are formed in the coldest parts of the earth, either at ground level or high up in the mountains. Glaciers contain snow that has turned into ice after more snow has fallen over it and compressed it into hard ice.

For a glacier to maintain / increase its size, it is important that the amount of snow falling on it every year is greater than the amount of snow / ice that has melted. If this trend is reversed then the glacier will start diminishing in size every year and soon be non-existent.

Glaciers Melting is a Normal Process
The melting of glaciers is a normal process. When there is a rise in temperature the upper layers of the glaciers begin melting. It is this process that supplies fresh drinking water and water for agriculture to many places around the world. Some nations depend on this flow of water to produce electricity. The melting glacier will be replaced by more snow, and this process continues.

Glaciers Today are Melting Faster Than Normal
The process of glaciers melting is normal, but amount of glacier that has melted must be replaced by more snow. This process is not happening almost everywhere in the world. Global warming has increased average temperatures worldwide, making more glacier ice to melt than in previous years. Falling snow is not able to cope with the melted snow. This results not only in the size of glaciers diminishing, but is also a grave threat to the populations that depend on these glaciers for survival.


Impacts of Melting Glaciers

Glaciers melting today have a negative impact on all those who depend on it. Communities that live along rivers fed by melting glaciers face the constant threat of being dislodged from their dwelling place due to possible flooding.

Many rivers are overflowing today, but very soon there will be no glacial melt to feed them, causing them to dry up and spread drought all over.

Lakes formed by melting glacier water will grow in size and always pose a threat of bursting. If this happens the impact could be very devastating for all those living in close vicinity. Entire villages could be destroyed including farming land, roads, road and rail bridges. Precious human life could be lost.





Global Warming
An issue of major concern is the possible effect of the burning of fossil fuels and other contributors to the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The action of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in trapping infrared radiation is called the greenhouse effect. It may measurably increase the overall average temperature of the Earth, which could have disastrous consequences. Sometimes the effects of the greenhouse effect are stated in terms of the albedo of the Earth, the overall average reflection coefficient.

This graphic of the global air temperature was posted by Phil Jones on behalf of the Climatic Research Unit, UK. The key reference used was Brohan, et al.
Another depiction of the mean temperatures in the northern hemisphere was drawn from NOAA.

Essentially any kind of tabulation you access will tell the same story. The temperature has gradually risen over the last 150 years.

Because the potential consequences of global warming in terms of loss of snow cover, sea level rise, change in weather patterns, etc are so great, it is a major societal concern. On the other hand, proposed measures to reduce human contributions to greenhouse gases can also have great consequences. The large potential impact combined with the ambiguities of the science has given rise to many passionate extremes.

Sea Level Rise Doubles in 150 Years
Global warming is doubling the rate of sea level rise around the world, but attempts to stop it by cutting back on greenhouse gas emissions are likely to be futile, leading researchers will warn today.

The oceans will rise nearly half a metre by the end of the century, forcing coastlines back by hundreds of metres, the researchers claim. Scientists believe the acceleration is caused mainly by the surge in greenhouse gas emissions produced by the development of industry and introduction of fossil fuel burning.

Today's warning comes from US researchers at Rutgers University in New Jersey who analysed cores drilled from different sites along the eastern seaboard. By drilling down 500 metres through layers of different sediments and using chemical dating techniques, the scientists were able to work out where beaches and dry land were over the past 100m years.

The analysis showed that during the past 5,000 years, sea levels rose at a rate of around 1mm each year, caused largely by the residual melting of icesheets from the previous ice age. But in the past 150 years, data from tide gauges and satellites show sea levels are rising at 2mm a year.

"The main thing that has happened since the 19th century and the beginning of the modern observation has been the widespread increase in fossil fuel use and more greenhouse gases," said Professor Kenneth Miller, who led the study. "We can say the increase we're seeing is much higher than we've seen in the immediate past and it is due to humans."

The rising tide is expected to make oceans 40cm higher by 2100. "This is going to cause more beach erosion. Beaches are going to move back and houses will be destroyed," he said. Rising sea levels will also add to the destructive power of storm surges triggered by hurricanes such as Katrina which battered New Orleans and surrounding areas this year.

The research, published in the US journal Science, comes a week before the countries that embraced the Kyoto protocol meet for the first time in Montreal to discuss future agreements for cutting carbon dioxide and other greenhouse`gas emissions further. While Britain has adopted the protocol, the government has suggested that voluntary targets rather than the mandatory cuts demanded by Kyoto could be a more practical way to trim greenhouse gas emissions.





1. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Do your part to reduce waste by choosing reusable products instead of disposables. Buying products with minimal packaging (including the economy size when that makes sense for you) will help to reduce waste. And whenever you can, recycle paper, plastic, newspaper, glass and aluminum cans. If there isn't a recycling program at your workplace, school, or in your community, ask about starting one. By recycling half of your household waste, you can save 2,400 pounds of carbon dioxide annually.









2. Use Less Heat and Air Conditioning
Adding insulation to your walls and attic, and installing weather stripping or caulking around doors and windows can lower your heating costs more than 25 percent, by reducing the amount of energy you need to heat and cool your home.
Turn down the heat while you're sleeping at night or away during the day, and keep temperatures moderate at all times. Setting your thermostat just 2 degrees lower in winter and higher in summer could save about 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year.
3. Change a Light Bulb
Wherever practical, replace regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. Replacing just one 60-watt incandescent light bulb with a CFL will save you $30 over the life of the bulb. CFLs also last 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, use two-thirds less energy, and give off 70 percent less heat.
If every U.S. family replaced one regular light bulb with a CFL, it would eliminate 90 billion pounds of greenhouse gases, the same as taking 7.5 million cars off the road.
4. Drive Less and Drive Smart
Less driving means fewer emissions. Besides saving gasoline, walking and biking are great forms of exercise. Explore your community mass transit system, and check out options for carpooling to work or school.
When you do drive, make sure your car is running efficiently. For example, keeping your tires properly inflated can improve your gas mileage by more than 3 percent. Every gallon of gas you save not only helps your budget, it also keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
5. Buy Energy-Efficient Products
When it's time to buy a new car, choose one that offers good gas mileage. Home appliances now come in a range of energy-efficient models, and compact florescent bulbs are designed to provide more natural-looking light while using far less energy than standard light bulbs.
Avoid products that come with excess packaging, especially molded plastic and other packaging that can't be recycled. If you reduce your household garbage by 10 percent, you can save 1,200 pounds of carbon dioxide annually.

6. Use Less Hot Water
Set your water heater at 120 degrees to save energy, and wrap it in an insulating blanket if it is more than 5 years old. Buy low-flow showerheads to save hot water and about 350 pounds of carbon dioxide yearly. Wash your clothes in warm or cold water to reduce your use of hot water and the energy required to produce it. That change alone can save at least 500 pounds of carbon dioxide annually in most households. Use the energy-saving settings on your dishwasher and let the dishes air-dry.

7. Use the "Off" Switch
Save electricity and reduce global warming by turning off lights when you leave a room, and using only as much light as you need. And remember to turn off your television, video player, stereo and computer when you're not using them.
It's also a good idea to turn off the water when you're not using it. While brushing your teeth, shampooing the dog or washing your car, turn off the water until you actually need it for rinsing. You'll reduce your water bill and help to conserve a vital resource.
8. Plant Tree
If you have the means to plant a tree, start digging. During photosynthesis, trees and other plants absorb carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. They are an integral part of the natural atmospheric exchange cycle here on Earth, but there are too few of them to fully counter the increases in carbon dioxide caused by automobile traffic, manufacturing and other human activities. A single tree will absorb approximately one ton of carbon dioxide during its lifetime.
9. Get a Report Card from Your Utility Company
Many utility companies provide free home energy audits to help consumers identify areas in their homes that may not be energy efficient. In addition, many utility companies offer rebate programs to help pay for the cost of energy-efficient upgrades.

10. Encourage Others to Conserve
Share information about recycling and energy conservation with your friends, neighbors and co-workers, and take opportunities to encourage public officials to establish programs and policies that are good for the environment.
These 10 steps will take you a long way toward reducing your energy use and your monthly budget. And less energy use means less dependence on the fossil fuels that create greenhouse gases and contribute to global warming.

Americans are aware of our global problem. A July poll released by the National Geographic Society showed that while seventy percent of Americans didn't know where the Persian Gulf was, ninety four percent knew that damage to the ozone layer in one region could affect the entire world (Ozone Crisis). But to protect our Earth we must explore why we have become our own worst enemy. As stated by Tolba in Vienna in March 1985, "If there is an environmental problem for which tardy response is absolutely unacceptable, it is the possible threat to the ozone layer. It is hard enough to cope with the permanent disappearance of a species, or the death of a lake, or the turning of fertile lands into desert. But in the case of global warming, who could forgive us if we reacted too late?" What we have put into the air since the beginning of the human race can not be taken back, but what we put into the air in the future can be reduced and until this happens, "Nature bats last." (bumper sticker, 1989).