A Major Threat to our Atmosphere and Environment

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A Major Threat to our Atmosphere and Environment

• The Greenhouse Effect and
• Global Warming

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What is the Greenhouse Effect?

• a naturally occurring process that aids in
  heating the Earth's surface and atmosphere

• Without the greenhouse effect life on this planet
  would probably not exist as the average
  temperature of the Earth would be a chilly -18
  Celsius, rather than the present 15 Celsius.

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How it works

• Insolation brings short wave radiation to our
  Earth.

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• Some of that energy is reflected, some is
  absorbed.

• The Earth emits that energy as LONG wave radiation

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What are Greenhouse Gases?

• The two major greenhouse gases are water vapor
  and carbon dioxide.

• Other greenhouse gases include methane, ozone,
  chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and nitrous oxide.

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So if the Greenhouse Effect keeps us alive, what
is the big deal?
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Since the Industrial Revolution, there has been
an increased amount of carbon dioxide and other
gases entering the atmosphere.
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Carbon Dioxide

• The major sources of this gas includes fossil
  fuel combustion for industry, transportation,
  space heating, electricity generation and cooking

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Since the Industrial Revolution, methane
concentrations have increased by 140!!!
Methane!

• The main sources of methane are rice cultivation
  and grazing domestic animals

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Nitrous Oxide

• Its concentration in the atmosphere is increasing
  at a rate of 0.2 0.3 per year

• Most of the nitrous oxide comes from deforestation

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All of those gases, and others, trap long
wave radiation in our atmosphere

• This has resulted in a rise in our average
  temperature on Earth of about 0.6oC or 1oF in the
  past 100 years.

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And has resulted in the melting of Polar ice caps
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Are there solutions?