GREENHOUSE EFFECT AND GLOBAL WARMING

James Hansen – from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) Goddard
Institute for Spaces Studies; he said that the earth is getting hotter, that global warming is real
and he is 99% sure that we are in a present danger. His testimony has confirmed the so-called
“greenhouse effect” caused by an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide and other gases,
threatens the future of the world’s climate.

GREENHOUSE EFFECT
1. Burning fossils fuels, reforestation, and the production of certain synthetic chemicals
release an enormous amount of heat that traps gases in the atmosphere.
2. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the main offender in global warming crisis.
3. The greenhouse effect is not all bad. In fact, it is one of the reasons why life is
comfortable in the place. Without it, the earth would be plunged into sub-zero
temperatures.
4. As a result of human activities, the greenhouse shield is growing too thick. The
thickening has not occurred overnight; it has been going on since the beginning of the
industrial revolution.

GREENHOUSE GASES
1. Carbon dioxide CO2
2. Methane (CH4)
3. Chlorofluorocarbons
4. Nitrous Oxide
5. Carbon Monoxide
6. Ozone (O3)

CAUSES OF GLOBAL WARMING

1. Increasing Population Growth
2. Exhaust Fumes/ Smokes and Other Gases
3. Farts from cattles including herbivores Animals
4. Gases from marshes, swamps and rice paddy fields
5. Methane gases from bites of termites

EFFECTS OF GLOBAL WARMING

1. Doubling of the atmosphere’s carbon dioxide content would increase temperature
enough to melt the edges of the Arctic and Antartic ice sheets, raising sea levels around
the globe.
2. Coastal areas and islands would be inundated.
3. Agriculture, water resources, fisheries, shipping and energy use would all be disrupted.
4. An area greater than the United States and china would submerged worldwide.
5. Much of the eastern seaboard of the US would be flooded.
6. Parts of Russia and Denmark would be under water.
7. Beijing, Seoul, New York and London will be flooded.
 8. Egypt could lose 15% of its land.
9. Cities surrounded by water including the Philippines would be Swamped.
10. Parts of the globe not flooded would get drier.
11. Rainfall patterns would shift.
12. Evaporation would lead to drier soils over much of the still expose land.
13. Colds season would shorten; warm season would lengthen.
14. Strong winds, hurricanes and assorted other storms, caused by shifting ocean currents
and a rising sea level, would devastate cities and populations.
15. There would be more droughts and many more days above 100 degrees in some
regions.
16. Many kinds of trees and wildlife would die.
17. World food supply would be dramatically affected.
18. Many forests would become grasslands; water supply would be tainted; recreational
lakes would dry up; and wetlands would be flooded.
19. Higher temperatures would cause an increased demand for electricity.

SOLUTION TO GLOBAL WARMING

1. Promotion of family planning to reduce population growth.
2. Educating people on reforestation programs by initiating “eco-tourism” trips to various
main forests.
3. Car owners have to switch to natural gas to help cut down nitrous oxide emissions.
4. Encouraging auto owners to seek out service stations equipped with recycling
equipment that cleanses and reuses the car air conditioners freon, which is 100% CFC
in the atmosphere, and provides shade which cuts down the demand for electricity for air
conditioners.

Things to Do About Climate Change

At Work
 Turn electrical equipment off when not in use, including computers, photocopiers, cash
register, and coffee makers, particularly overnight and on weekends.
 If your computer has integrated power management capabilities, ensure the system is
configured to use them. If printers and photocopiers have an energy-saver mode, make
sure it is operating (machines are often shipped with this feature disabled).
 Avoid using a laser printer for draft quality printouts. From an energy perspective, the
order preference is ink-jet, dot matrix and laser.
 Use as little paper as possible. Printing, photocopying and faxing all use energy.
Communicating electronically through e-mail and fax/moderns is quicker, less
expensive, more productive and healthier for the environment.
 Print and copy on both sides of paper. Double- sided printing or copying reduces paper
costs, saves filing spaces, minimizes the amount of energy and fiber required for paper
production.
 Use recycled paper (including unbleached paper) whenever possible.
 Encourage your employer to launch an awareness program to motivate employees to
improve energy efficiency in the workplace.

On the Road
  Leave the car at home-walk or bike for short trips. For longer trips, take the bus. One
busload of passengers takes 40 vehicles off the road during rush hour, saves 70,000
liters of fuel, and avoids over 175 tons of emissions a year.
 Avoid idling your vehicle-ten seconds idling uses more fuel than restarting your engine.
 Keep to the speed limit. Driving at 100 km/hr burns 10% more fuel than driving at 90
km/hr. on the highway, maintain a steady speed to reduce fuel consumption.

In Schools and On Campuses

 Tree planting
 Alternative transportation programs (car pooling, use of school buses, etc.)
 Energy efficiency and alternative energy programs
 Waste management programs
 Green purchasing practices and policies

At Home
 Turn off lights, appliances, television sets computers when they’re not needed.
 Check the energy efficiency rating (EER) label. When buying new household
appliances, room air-conditioner or vehicle, the EER label can help you select the most
energy-efficient model that meets your needs. The higher the EER rating, the better.
 Use energy-efficient lighting products, like compact fluorescent bulbs. They last 10
times longer and use 75 percent less energy that regular bulbs.
 Install low-flow showerheads, which use up to 60 percent less water than conventional
showers. Fix leaky faucets immediately. At one drop per second, a single leaky washer
wastes the equivalent of 16 hot baths every month.

OZONE DEPLETION

Three Layers of Atmosphere

1. Troposphere – The lowest layer; extends from the land of water surface up to an
elevation of about five miles in polar region. This layer is composed of water vapour and
clouds. It is in this layer where storms are produced and airplanes fly
2. Stratosphere – Above the troposphere. It is 30 miles above the earth and gets hotter as
you go higher. At its top is where ozone is created and the sun’s ultraviolet rays are
absorbed
3. Mesosphere - Above the stratosphere; extends another 20 miles and is characterized
by a cooler temperature.

Ozone layer-ozonosphere - hovers on top of the stratosphere.

Ozone (O3) – a strong-smelling, slightly bluish gas. It is composed of three oxygen atoms and
is regarded as “the Jekyll and Hyde” of atmosphere.
The ozone layer has received much attention because of chemical experiment in sky that finds
that the ozone shield is dissipating. The cause of this is man-made chemicals, particularly
ozone-depleting substances (ODS) like chlorofluorocarbon (CFCs) which are part and parcel of
variety of daily goods from refrigerators to air conditioners, aerosols to foam cushions.

Ozone depletion threatens the well-being of every person on earth.

CAUSE OF OZONE DEPLETION

1. CFC emissions around the globe

USES OF CFCs – refrigerant, aerosol, cleaning agents, in the manufacture, extinguishers and
styrofoam

EFFECTS OF OZONE DEPLETION

1. Skin cancer
2. Infectious diseases (e.g. malaria, cataracts)
3. UV-B radiation will disrupt the food chain, altering the life of the plants.
4. It will destroy microorganisms necessary to maintain marine life. It will also destroy the
photosynthesis and metabolism of planktons and can cause mutation is some marine
organisms.
5. Disrupt the earth’s climate; will heat up the atmosphere, adding to threat of global
warming.

SOLUTIONS TO OZONE DEPLETION

1. Ban the use and production of CFCs, halons, and other ODSs by the year 2000.
2. Require all service stations and auto repair shops to recycle CFCs.
3. Prohibit the sale of new CFCs-laden products-from refrigerators to dry cleaning solvents.
4. Ban all cars equipped with CFC-using air conditioners.
5. Prohibit the use of nearly all CFCs in most industrial processes except in drug
manufacturing medical devices and military specifications that require them.
6. Ban the use of plastic foam for food packaging.
7. Prohibit the use of building insulators with CFC compounds.
8. Require service station and auto repair shops to capture and recycle Freon.
9. Use Freon substitutes or alternatives/ replacement for CFCs.
The use of substitutes or alternatives for CFCs is found to be more even more
expensive, ineffective, impractical and even dangerous. Alternatives are even more toxic
and flammable and they cause cancer. Refer to table 1 for alternatives to control the use
of CFCs.
10. Reuse CFCs by means of a recycler machine.