Global Green Minds

Trying to make the world a better place.
Home
About Us
What is Global Warming
Greenhouse Gases
Global Warming Effects
Human Activity
Moral Issue
The Potential Damage
Our Communities
Art Work
What You Can Do
Global Curing
Resources
Contact Us
Site Map

Greenhouse Gases

 

So before we talk more in depth about greenhouse gases, lets talk about the basics.

 

First off here is a list of the most common:

 

  • Carbon Dioxide (Most Common)
  • Water Vapor
  • ChloroFluoroCarbons (CFC's)
  • Methane
  • Nitrous Oxide

 

Now in case you were wondering, these gases aren't evil or anything like that. Rather, we actually need them in order to keep the Earth warm. Without them, heat would just cycle back into outer space and Earth would be about 60º Fahrenheit cooler and therefore uninhabitable by humans (Side Note: Water freezes at about 32º F so do the math and you'll realize most of the Earth would have winter nonstop). The thing is, too much of them and the global temperature starts to rise, and with every degree, comes consequences affecting humans, plants, and animals.

Greenhouse Effect:

 

The Greenhouse effect is a way to explain how the greenhouse gases warm up the planet, because they do so in the way a greenhouse does. The greenhouse gases trap the heat making our earth warmer, the way greenhouses are suppossed to trap heat to make plants survive cold conditions.

 

However with the increase in CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) emissions and the burning of fossil fuels there are now two different meanings to the "Greenhouse Effect":

 

  1. "Natural" Greenhouse effect that keeps the Earth's climate warm and habitable.
  2. The "man-made" greenhouse effect, which is the increasing of Earth's natural greenhouse effect by the addition of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels (mainly petroleum, coal and natural gas).
    3.  
Effects in the Arctic:
 
The Artic is one of the most affected areas when it comes to who is most susceptible to the effects of global warming in part due to the following:
 
Artic Haze
 
The Artic Haze is basically pollution that mixes with thin clouds creating a sort of hazy look in the sky. The pollution is mostly made up carbon dioxide originating from both cars and factories. Why is this important? It traps heat and makes the Arctic about 3º F warmer.
 
Ice Albedo Effect
 
The Ice Albedo Effect is the cycle that occurs when ice begins to melt. As ice begins to melt it becomes clearer in color, making it more able to reflect the sun's energy. Since, land is darker it absorbs heat, and as the ice melts, it uncovers the land, and more and more heat is absorbed, making it difficult for more ice to be form.
Effects on the Poles
 
As you can see from the graph on the right, the Greenhouse effect is one of the causes of excess heat on Earth. The radiation that the Earth absorbs tends to gather on the northern and southern tips of the planet. As a result of this, heat is gathering in tons at the North and South poles causing the ice in these regions to melt. Studies conducted from scientists show that the warming of the ice keeps increasing every year (leading to a substanstial rise in sea level), and that the damage is too much, that even if the citizens of the Earth stopped sending greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the effects of global warming will still be felt on both poles.