Greenhouse+effect

= = = = = THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT = ====The natural process that makes Earth livable when the thermal radiation is absorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases and is re-radiated in all directions is the greenhouse effect. Not all radiation is able to reach our atmosphere, since some is reflected back into space and some is able to pass through and is absorbed by the planet Earth. Those gas molecules in the Earth's atmosphere with three or more atoms are called "greenhouse gases" because they can capture outgoing infrared energy. These gases include water vapor with three atoms (H2O), ozone (O3), carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4). Also, trace quantities of chloro-fluoro-carbons (CFC's) can have a disproportionately large effect.====

= EXPLANATION = ====The greenhouse effect is commonly referred as the trapping of excess heat by the rising concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere; however it is much more than simply that. It is all circumstances in which the short wavelength of the visible light of the sun is able to pass through a transparent medium and it is absorbed. The longer wavelength is not able to pass through that same medium, trapping the long wavelengths eventually leading into an increase of heat and of the temperature in general. All of the wavelengths can be referred as infrared radiation. Part of the re-radiation goes back toward the surface and lowers the atmosphere, which consequently results into an elevation of the average surface temperature. The heat is absorbed by the "greenhouse gases" in the atmosphere; the entire process prevents heat from disappearing in to space. The amount of solar energy reflected back by the surface is measured and defines in albedo, which is been proven to be critical in prediction global climate change. The greenhouse effect ilustrated example is shown bellow for a better understanding of the process, it contains explanations to help guide you: ==== ==== ==== = GREENHOUSE GAS = ====After the Industrial Revolution, humans started to create factories and other activities that intensify and accelerate the entire process of the greenhouse effects, due to the releasing of more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These gases and there sources can be seen in the graph bellow: ==== ==== ====

= KEY TERMS =

Greenhouse effect
==== Trapping and build-up of heat in the atmosphere (troposphere) near the Earth’s surface. Some of the heat flowing back toward space from the Earth's surface is absorbed by water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone, and several other gases in the atmosphere and then reradiated back toward the Earth’s surface. If the atmospheric concentrations of these greenhouse gases rise, the average temperature of the lower atmosphere will gradually increase ====

** Greenhouse gases **
==== Believed to be a human-driven increasing in the effect of these gases includes carbon dioxide, emitted by fossil fuel burning and deforestation, and methane, released from rice paddies and landfill sites. ====

Atmospheric contributors
====Those gas molecules in the Earth's atmosphere with three or more atoms are called "greenhouse gases" because they can capture outgoing infrared energy. These gases include water vapor with three atoms (H2O), ozone (O3), carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4). Also, trace quantities of chloro-fluoro-carbons (CFC's) can have a disproportionately large effect.====

Global Warming
====it may measurably increase the overall average temperature of the Earth. Sometimes the effects of the greenhouse effect are stated in terms of the albedo of the Earth, the overall average reflection coefficient====

= SPECIALIST: JAMES E. HANSEN = ====James E. Hansen was born in March 29, 1941 and is the head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, which is part of the Goddard Space Flight Center. He has held this position since 1981 until today, however this is not his only job, he is an adjunct professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University. ==== ====He applied and refined models used to understand the surface of Venus in the Earth's atmosphere, particularly, the effects that aerosols and trace gases have on Earth's climate. Hansen's development and use of global climate models has contributed to the further understanding of the Earth's climate. James Hansen is known for his researches in climatology and his famous testimony on climate change to congressional committees in 1988 that helped raise broad awareness of global warming. He became an activist for action to diminish the effects of climate change, which on a few occasions has led to his arrest. ====

Hansen proposed to President Barrack Obama solutions for solving the climate and energy problems and at the same tim it would be stimulating the economy by:

 * ====efficient energy use, ====
 * ====renewable energy, ====
 * ====a smart grid, ====
 * ====generation IV nuclear reactors* ====
 * "should be used to develop fast reactors that consume nuclear waste, and thorium reactors to prevent the creation of new long-lived nuclear waste."
 * carbon capture and storage

====**//"The first action that people should take is to use the democratic process. What is frustrating people, me included, is that democratic action affects elections but what we get then from political leaders is greenwash." //**====

James Hansen (March 2009)
= CURRENT EVENT and OPINIONS = ====[|If Cutting Carbon Emissions Isn’t Working, What’s Next?]: The article talks about the a question which is not frequently asked at all: "What if cutting the carbon emissions do not work?" All environmentalists talk about the necessity of reducing and do not mention other options. Radial and new options and solutions is what [|Marc Gunther] talks about in his book [|Suck It Up: How capturing carbon from the air can help solve the climate crisis].====

= LINKS =

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