HOW IS THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT PRODUCED? - ENVIRONMENT - 2024

The greenhouse effect occurs when we receive the light that comes from the sun to maintain the temperature of the planet in a constant and habitable way.

According to NASA, of 100% of the light sent by the Sun to Earth, approximately 30% is reflected and sent back into space by clouds, ice, sand and other reflective surfaces.

Only 70% of the sunlight is absorbed by the oceans, land, and the atmosphere. This light is used for different purposes, such as the production of solar energy, the evaporation of water and photosynthesis, in the case of plants.

The earth's surface must heat up during the day, and it must cool down again at night, releasing the heat contained in the atmosphere in the form of infrared radiation (IR) back into space. However, before this radiation can escape into space, it is absorbed by greenhouse gases (GHG) present in the atmosphere.

The absorption of these gases keeps the planet at a higher temperature. In this sense, the greenhouse effect plays a fundamental role in conserving the planet's temperature, in order to make it suitable for human life. Without this effect, the Earth's temperature would be around -30 ° C (Rinkesh, 2009).

However, excessive air pollution has contributed to the greater consequences of global warming, to the extent that the energy received from the sun cannot escape from the atmosphere because of pollution. All this poses a threat to the environment and all forms of life that inhabit the Earth.

In general, the greenhouse effect with devastating consequences for the environment is called the Anthropogenic Greenhouse Effect, since its causes stem from industrial and agricultural activities carried out by humans (BritishGeologicalSurvey, 2017).

In this line, the main causes of the greenhouse effect are greenhouse gases or GHG. These are gases composed of carbon dioxide, ozone, methane, nitrogen oxide, globular gas, and water vapor. These make up 1% of the Earth's atmosphere, act as a thick, warm blanket that surrounds the outside of the planet and regulates its temperature.

The greenhouse effect is not essentially bad, in fact, it is necessary for the survival of life on the planet. It is a process that happens naturally and is designed to help the temperature on the Earth's surface be constant and there is an ecological balance.

However, while a small proportion of the heat contained by the atmosphere manages to dissipate into space, most of this heat remains contained within the atmosphere, burning. Or in the worst case scenario, managing to penetrate the innermost layers of the atmosphere and raising the temperature significantly.

All of this results in an increase in the average temperature of the Earth. This means that, to the extent that there are more greenhouse gases, the warmer the Earth will be and the more likely it is that phenomena such as Global Warming will occur (Stille, 2006).

Greenhouse gases

Although greenhouse gases make up a smaller percentage of the Earth's atmosphere, they are solely responsible for maintaining and increasing the temperature on Earth.

As these gases increase, so does the internal temperature below them. These gases are mainly composed of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxide, and fluorine gas (Casper, 2010).

- Carbon dioxide: known as CO2, it is the greenhouse gas that has the greatest impact on the production of the greenhouse effect.

- Methane: Methane gas is an organic by-product released into the atmosphere when organic matter in the earth breaks down, for example when a tree is felled. It is one of the main producers of the greenhouse effect, since it takes between nine and fifteen years to be released from the atmosphere.

- Nitrogen oxide: this toxic gas is formed when fossil fuels and other materials are burned at high temperatures.

- Fluorinated gas: Fluorine is a by-product of many consumer goods used today, including refrigerators, cooling agents, fire extinguishers, and aerosols.

All these gases are elements that can be found in small quantities in nature.

However, the increase in their production thanks to industry and the hand of human beings, has resulted in the production of the greenhouse effect with a negative impact on the Earth.

Causes of the greenhouse effect

There are several agents that have increased the amount of GHG contained in the atmosphere, as can be seen below.

Burning of fossil fuels

Fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas have become an integral part of human life. These fuels are used on a large scale to produce electricity and sustain the most common means of transportation.

When fossil fuels are burned, the carbon contained in them is released and combines with the oxygen present in the atmosphere, creating carbon dioxide (CO2).

With the increase in the world population and the number of vehicles, pollution has increased and with it the amount of CO2 present in the atmosphere. CO2 is the main responsible for the greenhouse effect and global warming.

Apart from the pollution resulting from the numerous vehicles, there are high gas emissions related to the production of electrical energy. Burning coal for energy is one of the most important sources of CO2.

Currently, several nations are working to use renewable sources of energy to replace the burning of coal and other fossil fuels.

Deforestation

Forests are responsible for filtering CO2 from the atmosphere and throwing oxygen back into it through the process of photosynthesis. This process of gaseous exchange carried out by both plants and trees is essential for the existence of life on earth (CBO, 2012).

The large-scale development of different industries has led to massive felling of trees and deforestation. This has forced thousands of species to migrate to spaces where they can survive, including the human species. Thus, forest resources have been minimized.

When forests are burned, the carbon contained in them is released and converted back to CO2.

As there are fewer forests in the world, the process of filtering greenhouse gases becomes more difficult and the devastating greenhouse effect becomes imminent (Casper, Greenhouse Gases: Worldwide Impacts, 2009).

Increase in world population

During the last decades there has been a significant increase in the number of inhabitants of the world.

Today, thanks to this increase, the demand for food, clothing, shelter and consumer goods has increased. Thanks to these demands, new manufacturing niches have been established in cities and small towns, destroying forests, consuming natural resources and emitting greenhouse gases.

Similarly, the number of vehicles and the consumption of electricity and industrial goods has increased, increasing the use of fossil fuels and aggravating the problem of releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

The high demand for feed also leads to the planting of crops and animal husbandry for the large-scale meat industry, thereby increasing the use of toxic gases such as nitrogen oxide. Finally, the massive cultivation of food and fish farming are one of the main responsible for the greenhouse effect.

Industrial waste and landfills

The cement, fertilizer, oil extraction and mining manufacturing industries produce highly toxic greenhouse gases.

Similarly, the wastes produced in these industries release CO2 and methane gas, significantly increasing environmental problems related to the anthropogenic greenhouse effect.

Evidence of climate change

Some observations indicate that the climate on Earth has changed considerably in recent years. The thawing of glaciers, a product of global warming generated by the greenhouse effect, has led to an increase in ocean levels.

The highest temperatures recorded in the history of the city have taken place during the last 150 years. This is because the earth's temperature rises an average of 0.74 ° C each year. The rise in temperature is most evident in the north of the globe, where snowy surfaces have been melting rapidly over the past 50 years.

The greenhouse effect produced by the high emissions of gases produced by man-made industry has led to the amount of water vapor contained in the air also increasing.

Therefore, this leads to the atmosphere being able to retain higher temperatures and less cold air. (Hardy, 2004).

References

1. BritishGeologicalSurvey. (2017). British Geological Survey. Retrieved from What causes the man-made greenhouse effect ?: bgs.ac.uk.

2. Casper, JK (2009). Greenhouse Gases: Worldwide Impacts. Infobase Publishing.

3. Casper, JK (2010). Anthropogenic Causes and Effects. In JK Casper, Greenhouse Gases: Worldwide Impacts (pp. 113-139). New York: Facts On File.

4. CBO. (January 6, 2012). Congretional Budget Office. Obtained from Deforestation and Greenhouse Gases: cbo.gov.

5. Hardy, JT (2004). Earth and The Greenhouse Effect. In JT Hardy, Climate Change: Causes, Effects, and Solutions (pp. 3-11). Bellingham: Wiley.

6. Rinkesh. (2009). Conserve Energy Future. Retrieved from What is the Greenhouse Effect ?: conserve-energy-future.com.

7. Stille, DR (2006). The Greenhouse Effect: Warming the Planet. Pass Point Books.