greenhouse effect

Examples of greenhouse effect in the following topics:

• The Greenhouse Effect

  • The greenhouse effect is an elevation in surface temperatures due to atmospheric gases absorbing and re-radiating thermal energy.
  • Gases known as greenhouse gases, including water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone, and methane, absorb and trap this heat as it tries to escape from the atmosphere.
  • The cloud layer can also absorb infrared radiation and contribute further to the greenhouse effect.
  • Without this trapping effect, it is estimated that the surface of the Earth would be approximately 30 degrees cooler than current temperatures.
  • The greenhouse effect modulates the temperature at the Earth's surface and makes it hospitable to life.

• Air Pollution

  • The greenhouse effect: an elevation in the Earth's surface temperature due to the absorption of electromagnetic radiation by atmospheric gases.

• Earth's Atmosphere

  • These minor components are the major contributors to phenomena like weather, the greenhouse effect, and global warming.
  • Carbon dioxide, water vapor, and other greenhouse gases are adept at stopping heat from leaving the atmosphere, causing the Earth to heat up.
  • Some greenhouse gases are beneficial—without them, Earth would be as cold as the moon—but the recent increase in carbon dioxide has upset the precise balance between too cold, too hot, and just right.

• Environmental Problems Associated with Fossil Fuel Use

  • The ranges of these estimates arise from the use of models with differing sensitivity to greenhouse gas concentrations.
  • Other likely effects of global warming include a more frequent occurrence of extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts, and heavy rainfall.
  • Effects significant to humans include the threat to food security from decreasing crop yields, as well as the loss of habitat from flooding.
  • Proposed policy responses to global warming include mitigation by emissions reduction, adaptation to its effects, and possible future geoengineering.
  • Parties to the UNFCCC have adopted a range of policies designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to assist in adaptation to global warming.

• Volcanoes

  • Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, and sulfur dioxide, hydrogen chloride, and hydrogen fluoride are all components of acid rain.
  • Volcanoes can also have beneficial effects on the surrounding environment.

• New Energy Sources

  • Using the existing transportation infrastructure, thereby displacing fossil fuels, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
  • According to a 2011 projection by the International Energy Agency, solar power generators may produce most of the world's electricity within 50 years, dramatically reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases that harm the environment.

• Biodegradable Polymers

  • Placing such materials in a landfill results in a slower anaerobic decomposition, which produces methane, a greenhouse gas.
  • After dimerization to the lactide, ring-opening polymerization of the purified lactide is effected using stannous compounds as catalysts.

• The Hydrogen Economy

  • As a potential energy source, the hydrogen economy stands to eliminate or reduce the negative effects of using hydrocarbon fuels, the currently dominant energy source that releases high amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.
  • In the current hydrocarbon economy, transportation is fueled by petroleum, the use of which ultimately results in the release of carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) and many pollutants into the atmosphere.
  • Although the hydrogen economy is supposed to create a smaller carbon footprint, there are many concerns regarding the environmental effects of hydrogen manufacturing.

• Energy Consumption

  • Global warming and climate change are generally accepted as being caused by anthropogenic (man-made) greenhouse gas emissions.
  • The majority of greenhouse gas emissions are due to burning fossil fuels, while some is due to deforestation.
  • Another measurement of greenhouse gas-related issues and other externality comparisons between energy sources can be found in the ExternE project by the Paul Scherrer Institute and the University of Stuttgart.

• Nuclear Reactors

  • In many countries, nuclear power is seen as an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels, which are non-renewable and release large amounts of greenhouse gases.