Greenhouse effect

Author: Ram Adwani

SourceThe Greenhouse Effect History Svante Arrhenius (1859-1927) was a Swedish scientist who was the first to claim in 1896 that fossil fuel combustion may eventually result in enhanced global warming. He proposed a relation between atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and temperature. He and Thomas Chamberlin calculated that human activities could warm the earth by adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. This was not actually verified until 1987; in 1988 it was finally acknowledged that the climate was warmer than any period since 1880. The greenhouse effect theory was named and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was founded by the United Nations Environmental Programme and the World Meteorological Organization. This organization tries to predict the impact of the greenhouse effect according to existing climate models and literature information. The Natural Greenhouse Effect The greenhouse effect is the rise in temperature that the Earth experiences because certain gases in the atmosphere (water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, ozone, methane, for example) trap energy that comes from the sun. These gases are usually called greenhouse gases since they behave much like the glass panes in a greenhouse. The glass panels of the greenhouse let in the light but keep heat from escaping and this is similar to the effect these gasses have on earth. Sunlight enters the Earth's atmosphere, passing through the greenhouse gases. As it reaches the Earth's surface, land, water, and biosphere absorb the sunlight's energy. Once absorbed, this energy is sent back into the atmosphere. Some of the energy passes back into space, but much of it remains trapped in the atmosphere by the greenhouse gases. This is the completely natural process and without these gases all the heat would escape back into space and Earth's average temperature would be about 30 degrees Celsius (54 degrees Fahrenheit) colder. The greenhouse effect is very important process, because without the greenhouse effect, the Earth would not be warm enough for humans to live. But if the greenhouse effect becomes stronger, it could make the Earth warmer than usual. Even a little extra warming may cause problems for humans, plants, and animals.The Enhanced Greenhouse Effect Some human activities also produce greenhouse gases and these gases keep increasing in the atmosphere. The change in the balance of the greenhouse gases has significant effects on the entire planet. Burning fossil fuels - coal, oil and natural gas - releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Cutting down and burning trees also produces a lot of carbon dioxide. A group of greenhouse gases called the chlorofluorocarbons have been used in aerosols, such as hairspray cans, fridges and in making foam plastics. Since there are more and more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, more heat is trapped, which makes the Earth warmer. This is known as global warming. A lot of scientists agree that man's activities are making the natural greenhouse effect stronger. If we carry on polluting the atmosphere with greenhouse gases, it will have very dangerous effects on the Earth. Today, the increase in the Earth's temperature is increasing with unprecedented speed. To understand just how quickly global warming is accelerating, consider that during the entire 20th century, the average global temperature increased by about 0.6 degrees Celsius (slightly more than 1 degree Fahrenheit). Using computer climate models, scientists estimate that by the year 2100 the average global temperature will increase by 1.4 degrees to 5.8 degrees Celsius (approximately 2.5 degrees to 10.5 degrees Fahrenheit).

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