What helps in warming the greenhouse

Global warming describes the current rise in the average temperature of Earth’s air and oceans. Global warming is often described as the most recent example of climate change. Earth’s climate has changed many times. Our planet has gone through multiple ice ages, in which ice sheets and glaciers covered large portions of Earth. It has also gone through warm periods when temperatures were higher than they are today. Past changes in Earth’s temperature happened very slowly, over hundreds of thousands of years. However, the recent warming trend is happening much faster than it ever has. Natural cycles of warming and cooling are not enough to explain the amount of warming we have experienced in such a short time—only human activities can account for it. Scientists worry that the climate is changing faster than some living things can adapt to it. In 1988, the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme established a committee of climatologists, meteorologists, geographers, and other scientists from around the world. This Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) includes thousands of scientists who review the most up-to-date research available related to global warming and climate change. The IPCC evaluates the risk of climate change caused by human activities. According to the IPCC’s most recent report (in 2007), Earth’s average surface temperatures have risen about 0.74 degrees Celsius (1.33 degrees Fahrenheit) during the past 100 year...

2) is the most significant greenhouse gas. Natural sources of atmospheric CO 2 include outgassing from 2 from the 2 during A number of oceanic processes also act as 2. Another process, the “biological pump,” involves the uptake of 2 by marine vegetation and 2 to build skeletons and other structures made of calcium 3). As these organisms expire and 2 in the atmosphere. CO 2 has consequently 2 builds at an exponential rate (that is, at a rate of increase that is also increasing over time). The natural background level of carbon dioxide varies on timescales of millions of years due to slow changes in outgassing through 2 concentrations appear to have been several times higher than today (perhaps close to 2,000 ppm). Over the past 700,000 years, CO 2 concentrations have varied over a far smaller range (between roughly 180 and 300 ppm) in association with the same Earth orbital effects linked to the coming and going of the 2 levels reached 384 ppm, which is approximately 37 percent above the natural background level of roughly 280 ppm that existed at the beginning of the 2 levels continued to increase, and by 2018 they had reached 410 ppm. According to 2 concentrations increase, for additional CO 2 2 concentration. At current rates of 2 concentrations over preindustrial levels is expected to take place by the middle of the 21st century (when CO 2 concentrations are projected to reach 560 ppm). A doubling of CO 2 concentrations would represent an increase of roughly 4 watts per ...

Forego Fossil Fuels—The first challenge is eliminating the Oil is the lubricant of the global economy, hidden inside such ubiquitous items as plastic and corn, and fundamental to the transportation of both consumers and goods. Coal is the substrate, So try to employ alternatives when possible—plant-derived plastics, biodiesel, wind power—and to invest in the change, be it by divesting from oil stocks or investing in companies practicing carbon capture and storage. Infrastructure Upgrade—Buildings worldwide contribute around one third of all greenhouse gas emissions (43 percent in the U.S. alone), even though Of course, it takes a lot of cement, a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, to construct new buildings and roads. The U.S. alone contributed 50.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere in 2005 from cement production, which requires heating limestone and other ingredients to 1,450 degrees Celsius (2,642 degrees Fahrenheit). Mining copper and other elements needed for electrical wiring and transmission also causes globe-warming pollution. But energy-efficient buildings and Move Closer to Work—Transportation is the second leading source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. (burning a single gallon of gasoline produces 20 pounds of CO 2). But it doesn't have to be that way. One way to dramatically curtail transportation fuel needs is to move closer to work, use mass transit, or switch to walking, Cutting down on long-distance travel would also help...

1. What is the greenhouse effect? In a greenhouse, sunlight enters, and heat is retained. The greenhouse effect describes a similar phenomenon on a planetary scale but, instead of the glass of a greenhouse, certain gases are increasingly raising global temperatures. The surface of the Earth absorbs just under half of the sun’s energy, while the atmosphere absorbs 23 per cent, and the rest is reflected back into space. Natural processes ensure that the amount of incoming and outgoing energy is equal, keeping the planet’s temperature stable. However, human activity is resulting in the increased emission of so-called greenhouse gases (GHGs) which, unlike other atmospheric gases such as oxygen and nitrogen, becomes trapped in the atmosphere, unable to escape the planet. This energy returns to the surface, where it is reabsorbed. Because more energy enters than exits the planet, surface temperatures increase until a new balance is achieved. On bone-dry land, severely affected by drought, two women search for their daily water supply. 2. Why does the warming matter? This temperature increase has long-term, adverse effects on the climate, and affects a myriad of natural systems. Effects include increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events – including flooding, droughts, wildfires and hurricanes – that affect millions of people and cause trillions in economic losses. “Human-caused greenhouse gas emissions endanger human and environmental health,” says Mark Ra...

What does food have to do with climate change? What we eat, and how that food is produced, affects our health but also the environment. Food needs to be grown and processed, transported, distributed, prepared, consumed, and sometimes disposed of. Each of these steps creates greenhouse gases that trap the sun’s heat and contribute to climate change. The largest chunk of food-related greenhouse gases comes from • methane from cattle’s digestive process, • nitrous oxide from fertilizers used for crop production, • carbon dioxide from cutting down forests for the expansion of farmland, • other agricultural emissions from manure management, rice cultivation, burning of crop residues, and the use of fuel on farms. A much smaller share of the greenhouse gas emissions of food are caused by: • refrigeration and transport of food, • industrial processes such as the production of paper and aluminum for packaging, • the management of food waste. Which foods cause the most greenhouse gas emissions? The climate impact of food is measured in terms of greenhouse gas emissions intensity. The emissions intensity is expressed in kilograms of “carbon dioxide equivalents” – which includes not only CO2but all greenhouse gases – per kilogram of food, per gram of protein or per calorie. • • Cows and sheep emit methane as they digest grass and plants. • The cattle’s waste on pastures and chemical fertilizers used on crops for cattle feed emit nitrous oxide, another powerful greenhouse gas. • Here ...

Activity : 1 hr 15 mins Activity : 1 hr 15 mins Greenhouse Effect Greenhouse Effect Students consider what happens when there is more carbon than usual in the atmosphere. They then model the greenhouse effect of Earth’s atmosphere through a hands-on experiment. Finally, students deepen their understanding of the greenhouse effect by watching a short video and undertaking a reading and reflection activity. • Ask: What do you think happens if there is too much carbon moved from other reservoirs (or “spheres”) into the atmosphere? • Students will likely have ideas around global warming or the greenhouse effect. Help them get as specific as possible about what they think is happening, as well as the causes and mechanisms, so that you can target instruction to their current level of understanding. • During the discussion, it may be helpful to sketch their ideas on the board to get a clear idea of their understanding of the terms. • Confirm that this activity will explore the greenhouse effect. • Ask: What is a greenhouse? What does it do? How might Earth be like a greenhouse? (Correct responses: Heat comes in through the Earth’s atmosphere, but not all of it escapes, which causes the planet to get warm.) 2. Challenge students, either in pairs or small groups, to carry out a brief experiment to understand the basic concept of the greenhouse effect. • In this experiment, students will compare the air temperatures in two bags, one sealed with added carbon dioxide from sodium bicar...