The emergence of the greenhouse effect, causes and consequences. the greenhouse effect

1. If the temperature on Earth continues to rise, it will have a major impact on the global climate.

2. More precipitation will fall in the tropics, as additional heat will increase the amount of water vapor in the air.

3. In arid regions, the rains will become even rarer and they will turn into deserts, as a result of which people and animals will have to leave them.

4. The temperature of the seas will also rise, which will lead to the flooding of low-lying areas of the coast and to an increase in the number of severe storms.

5. An increase in temperature on Earth can cause a rise in sea levels because:

a) water, as it heats up, becomes less dense and expands, the expansion of sea water will lead to a general rise in sea level;

b) an increase in temperature can melt some of the multi-year ice covering some areas of land, such as Antarctica or high mountain ranges.

The resulting water will eventually drain into the seas, raising their levels. It should be noted, however, that the melting of ice floating in the seas will not cause sea levels to rise. The Arctic ice sheet is a huge layer of floating ice. Like Antarctica, the Arctic is also surrounded by many icebergs.

Climatologists have calculated that if the Greenland and Antarctic glaciers melt, the level of the World Ocean will rise by 70-80 m.

6. Residential land will shrink.

7. The water-salt balance of the oceans will be disturbed.

8. Trajectories of cyclones and anticyclones will change.

9. If the temperature on Earth rises, many animals will not be able to adapt to climate change. Many plants will die from lack of moisture and animals will have to move to other places in search of food and water. If the increase in temperature leads to the death of many plants, then many species of animals will die out after them.

In addition to the negative effects of global warming, there are several positive ones. At first glance, a warmer climate seems to be a boon, as it can reduce heating bills and increase the length of the growing season in middle and high latitudes. Increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide can speed up photosynthesis.

However, the potential yield gain could be wiped out by disease damage caused by harmful insects, as higher temperatures will speed up their reproduction. Soils in some areas will be unsuitable for growing basic crops. Global warming would probably accelerate the decomposition of organic matter in soils, which would lead to an additional release of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere and accelerate the greenhouse effect. What awaits us in the future?

3. Environmental forecasting Quantifying the greenhouse effect

Quantitatively, the magnitude of the greenhouse effect is defined as the difference between the average surface temperature of the planet's atmosphere and its effective temperature. The greenhouse effect is significant for planets with dense atmospheres containing gases absorbing in infrared area and is proportional to the density atmosphere. A consequence of the greenhouse effect is also the smoothing of temperature contrasts both between polar And equatorial zones of the planet, and between day and night temperatures (see Table 1, temperatures are given in Kelvin, - average maximum temperature (noon on equator), is the average minimum temperature).

Table 1
Planet	Atm. surface pressure,atm.						Δ T
Venus
Earth
moon
Mars

Currently, various measures are being discussed that could prevent the growing "anthropogenic overheating" of the Earth. There is a proposal to extract excess CO2 from the air, liquefy and pump it into the deep layers of the ocean, using its natural circulation. Another proposal is to disperse the smallest droplets of sulfuric acid in the stratosphere and thereby reduce the influx of solar radiation on the earth's surface.

The huge scale of the anthropogenic reduction of the biosphere already gives grounds to believe that the solution of the CO2 problem should be carried out by "treating" the biosphere itself, i.e. restoration of soil and vegetation cover with maximum reserves of organic matter wherever possible. At the same time, the search should be intensified to replace fossil fuels with other energy sources, primarily environmentally friendly ones that do not require oxygen consumption, to use water and wind energy more widely, and for the future perspective, the energy of the reaction of matter and antimatter.

It is known that there is a blessing in disguise, and it turned out that the current industrial decline in the country turned out to be beneficial - environmentally. Decreased production volumes. and, accordingly, the amount of harmful emissions into the atmosphere of cities has decreased.

Ways to solve the problem of clean air is quite real. The first is the fight against the reduction of the Earth's vegetation cover, the systematic increase in its composition of specially selected rocks that purify the air from harmful impurities. The Institute of Plant Biochemistry has experimentally proved that many plants are able to absorb from the atmosphere such components harmful to humans as alkanes and aromatic hydrocarbons, as well as carbonyl compounds, acids, alcohols, essential oils and others.

An important place in the fight against atmospheric pollution belongs to the irrigation of deserts and the organization of cultural farming here, the creation of powerful forest protection belts. There is a lot of work to be done to reduce and completely stop the emission of smoke and other combustion products into the atmosphere. More and more urgent is the search for technology for "pipeless" industrial enterprises operating in a closed technological scheme - using all production waste.

Human activity is so grandiose in scope that it has already acquired a global nature-forming scale. Until now, we have mainly sought to take as much as possible from nature. And the search in this direction will continue. But the time has come to work just as purposefully on how to give back to nature what we take from it. There is no doubt that the genius of mankind is capable of solving this daunting task.

Philippe de Saussure once made an experiment: he exposed a glass covered with a lid to the sun, after which he measured the temperature inside the glass and outside. The temperature inside and outside was different - in a closed glass it was a little warmer. A little later, in 1827, the physicist Joseph Fourier hypothesized that the glass on the windowsill could serve as a model of our planet - the same thing happens under the layers of the atmosphere.

And he turned out to be right, now every schoolchild has heard the term "greenhouse effect" at least once, this is what is happening to the Earth now, what is happening to us now. The problem of the greenhouse effect is one of the global environmental problems that can lead to catastrophic damage to our planet, its flora and fauna. Why is the greenhouse effect dangerous? What are its causes and consequences? Are there ways to solve this problem?

Definition

Greenhouse effect - an increase in the temperature of the surface of the earth and air, entailing changes in the climate. How does this happen?

Imagine that we are in the same beaker on the windowsill in the laboratory of Philippe de Saussure. The weather is warm outside, the rays of the sun falling on the glass penetrate through the glass, heating its bottom. It, in turn, gives off the absorbed energy in the form of infrared radiation to the air inside the glass, thereby heating it. Infrared radiation cannot pass back through the walls, leaving heat inside. The temperature inside the glass rises and we become hot.

In the case of the scale of the planet Earth, everything works a little more complicated, given that instead of glass we have layers of the atmosphere and, together with the sun's rays, the greenhouse effect is created by many other factors.

Causes of the greenhouse effect

Human activity is one of the main factors in the formation of the greenhouse effect. It is noteworthy that the greenhouse effect existed several centuries before technical and industrial progress but in and of itself poses no threat. However, with the pollution of the atmosphere by factories, emissions of harmful substances, as well as the burning of coal, oil and gas, the situation worsened. Carbon dioxide and other dangerous compounds formed at the same time contribute not only to the growth of oncological diseases among the population, but also to an increase in air temperature.

Cars and trucks also contribute to the cocktail of harmful substances emitted into the air, thereby enhancing the greenhouse effect.

overpopulation makes the machine of consumption and demand work more productively: new factories open, cattle breeding farms, more cars are produced, increasing the pressure on the atmosphere hundreds of times. Nature itself offers us one of the solutions - endless forest spaces that can purify the air and reduce the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. However, a person in large numbers cuts down forests.

In the agricultural industry, in the vast majority of cases, chemical fertilizers, contributing to the release of nitrogen - one of the greenhouse gases. There is organic farming, which you can read about here. It is absolutely harmless to the Earth's atmosphere, as it uses only natural fertilizers, but, unfortunately, the percentage of such farms is extremely small in order to “cover” non-ecological agricultural farms with their activities.

At the same time, huge landfills contribute to the increase in greenhouse gases, where garbage sometimes ignites spontaneously or rots for a very long time, releasing the same greenhouse gases.

Consequences of the greenhouse effect

An unnatural increase in temperature entails a change in the climate of the area, and, consequently, the extinction of many representatives of flora and fauna that are not adapted to this climate. One ecological problem gives rise to another - species depletion.

Also, being in the conditions of a "steam room", glaciers are colossal "deposits" of fresh water! - slowly but surely melt away. Due to this, the level of the World Ocean will rise, which means it will flood coastal areas, and the land area will decrease.

Some ecologists predict that the level of the Sea Ocean, on the contrary, will decrease, and in 200 years. It will begin to dry slowly under the influence of high temperature. Not only the air temperature will increase, but also the temperature of the water, which means that many organisms will not survive, whose life system is so finely organized that temperature drops of 1-2 degrees are detrimental to it. For example, entire coral reefs are already dying out, turning into piles of dead deposits.

The impact on human health should not be ignored. An increase in air temperature contributes to the active spread of such life-threatening viruses as Ebola, sleeping sickness, bird flu, yellow fever, tuberculosis, etc. Death from dehydration and heat stroke will increase.

Solutions

Despite the fact that the problem is global, its solution lies in a few simple steps. The difficulty is that as many people as possible should perform them.

6. To educate relatives, friends and acquaintances, to educate in children the need to take care of nature. After all, any problem can be solved by acting together.

The greenhouse effect - the process of increasing the temperature near the earth's surface due to an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases (Figure 3).

Greenhouse gases- these are gaseous compounds that intensively absorb infrared rays (thermal rays) and contribute to the heating of the surface layer of the atmosphere; these include: primarily CO 2 (carbon dioxide), but also methane, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), nitrogen oxides, ozone, water vapour.

These impurities prevent long-wave thermal radiation from the earth's surface. Part of this absorbed thermal radiation returns back to the earth's surface. Consequently, with an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the surface layer of the atmosphere, the intensity of absorption of infrared radiation emanating from the earth's surface also increases, which means that the air temperature increases (climate warming).

An important function of greenhouse gases is to maintain a relatively constant and moderate temperature on the surface of our planet. Carbon dioxide and water are mainly responsible for maintaining favorable temperature conditions near the Earth's surface.

Figure 3. Greenhouse effect

The earth is in thermal equilibrium with its surroundings. This means that the planet radiates energy into outer space at a rate equal to the absorption rate of solar energy. Since the Earth is a relatively cold body with a temperature of 254 K, the radiation of such cold bodies falls on the long-wave (low-energy) part of the spectrum, i.e. The maximum intensity of the Earth's radiation is located near the wavelength of 12,000 nm.

Most of this radiation is retained by CO 2 and H 2 O, which also absorb it in the infrared region, thus these components do not allow heat to dissipate and maintain a uniform temperature suitable for life near the Earth's surface. Water vapor plays an important role in maintaining the temperature of the atmosphere at night, when the earth's surface radiates energy into outer space and does not receive solar energy. In deserts with a very arid climate, where the concentration of water vapor is very low, it is unbearably hot during the day, but very cold at night.

The main reasons for the increase in the greenhouse effect– a significant release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and an increase in their concentrations; what is happening in connection with the intensive burning of fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, oil products), the reduction of vegetation: deforestation; drying up of forests due to pollution, burning of vegetation during fires, etc. As a result, the natural balance between the consumption of CO 2 by plants and its intake in the process of respiration (physiological, decay, combustion) is disturbed.

According to scientists, with a probability of more than 90%, it is human activity in burning natural fuels and the greenhouse effect caused by this that largely explains global warming in the last 50 years. The processes caused by human activity are like a train that has lost control. It is almost impossible to stop them, warming will continue for at least several centuries, or even a whole millennium. As environmentalists have established, so far the world's oceans have absorbed the lion's share of heat, but the capacity of this giant battery is running out - the water has warmed up to a depth of three kilometers. The result is global climate change.

Concentration of the main greenhouse gas(CO 2) in the atmosphere at the beginning of the 20th century was » 0.029%, by now it has reached 0.038%, i.e. increased by almost 30%. If current impacts on the biosphere are allowed to continue, by 2050, the concentration of CO 2 in the atmosphere will double. In this connection, they predict an increase in temperature on Earth by 1.5 ° C - 4.5 ° C (up to 10 ° C in the polar regions, 1 ° C -2 ° C in the equatorial regions).

This, in turn, can lead to a critical increase in the temperature of the atmosphere in arid zones, which will lead to the death of living organisms, a decrease in their vital activity; desertification of new territories; melting of polar and mountain glaciers, which means a rise in the level of the world ocean by 1.5 m, flooding of coastal zones, increased storm activity, and migration of the population.

Consequences of global warming:

1. As a result of global warming, change in atmospheric circulation , change in the distribution of precipitation, change in the structure of biocenoses; in a number of regions, a decrease in the yield of agricultural crops.

2. global climate change . Australia suffer more. Climatologists predict a climate catastrophe for Sydney: by 2070, the average temperature in this Australian metropolis will rise by about five degrees, forest fires will devastate its surroundings, and giant waves will destroy sea beaches. Europe will devastate climate change. The ecosystem will be destabilized by relentlessly rising temperatures, EU scientists predict in a report. In the north of the continent, crop yields will increase with an increase in the length of the growing season and the frost-free period. The already warm and arid climate of this part of the planet will become even warmer, leading to droughts and the drying up of many fresh water reservoirs (Southern Europe). These changes will be a real challenge for farmers and foresters. In Northern Europe, warm winters will be accompanied by increased precipitation. Warming in the north of the region will also lead to positive phenomena: the expansion of forests and the growth of crops. However, they will go hand in hand with floods, destruction of coastal areas, the disappearance of some species of animals and plants, melting of glaciers and permafrost regions. IN Far East and Siberian regions the number of cold days will decrease by 10-15, and in the European part - by 15-30.

3. Global climate change is already costing humanity 315 thousand lives annually, and this figure is constantly increasing every year. It causes disease, drought and other weather anomalies that are already killing people. The organization's experts also cite other data - according to their calculations, more than 325 million people, usually from developing countries, are currently affected by climate change. Experts estimate the impact of global warming on the world economy at $125 billion in damage annually, and by 2030 this amount could rise to $340 billion.

4. Survey 30 glaciers in various regions of the globe, conducted by the World Glacier Watch, showed that in 2005 the thickness of the ice cover decreased by 60-70 centimeters. This figure is 1.6 times the annual average of the 1990s and 3 times the average of the 1980s. According to some experts, despite the fact that the thickness of the glaciers is only a few tens of meters, if their melting continues at such a pace, in a few decades the glaciers will disappear altogether. The most dramatic processes of glacier melting have been noted in Europe. Thus, the Norwegian glacier Breydalblikkbrea (Breidalblikkbrea) in 2006 lost more than three meters, which is 10 times more than in 2005. Threatening melting of glaciers has been noted in Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, France, Italy and Spain. In the zone of the Himalayan mountains. The current trend of glacier melt suggests that rivers such as the Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra (the highest river in the world) and other rivers crossing the northern plain of India may become seasonal rivers in the near future due to climate change.

5. Rapid melting permafrost Due to climate warming, today it poses a serious threat to Russia's northern regions, half of which are located in the so-called "permafrost zone". Experts from the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation give forecasts: according to their calculations, the area of ​​permafrost in Russia will decrease by more than 20% over the next 30 years, and the depth of soil thawing will decrease by 50%. The greatest changes in climate may occur in the Arkhangelsk region, the Komi Republic, the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug and Yakutia. Experts predict that the thawing of permafrost will lead to significant changes in the landscape, high-flowing rivers, and the formation of thermokarst lakes. In addition, due to the melting of permafrost, the rate of erosion of the Russian Arctic coasts will increase. Paradoxically, due to changes in the coastal landscape, the territory of Russia may be reduced by several tens of square kilometers. Due to climate warming, other northern countries are also suffering from coastline erosion. So, for example, the process of wave erosion will lead [http://ecoportal.su/news.php?id=56170] to the complete disappearance of the northernmost island of Iceland by 2020. The island of Kolbinsi (Kolbeinsey), which is considered the northernmost point of Iceland, will completely disappear under water by 2020 as a result of accelerating the process of abrasion - wave erosion of the coast.

6. World ocean level by 2100 could rise by 59 centimeters, according to a report by a UN expert group. But this is not the limit, if the ice of Greenland and Antarctica melts, then the level of the World Ocean can rise even higher. Only the top of the dome of St. Isaac's Cathedral and the spire of the Peter and Paul Fortress, sticking out of the water, will then indicate the location of St. Petersburg. A similar fate will befall London, Stockholm, Copenhagen and other major seaside cities.

7. Tim Lenton, a climate expert at the University of East Anglia and colleagues, using mathematical calculations, found that an increase in the average annual temperature of even 2 ° C over 100 years will cause 20-40% death Amazonian forests due to the impending drought. A 3°C rise in temperature will cause the death of 75% of the forests within 100 years, and a 4°C rise in temperature will cause the disappearance of 85% of all Amazon forests. And they absorb CO 2 most efficiently (Photo: NASA, presentation).

8. At the current rate of global warming, by 2080 up to 3.2 billion people on the globe will face the problem lack of drinking water . Scientists note that water difficulties will primarily affect Africa and the Middle East, but a critical situation may also develop in China, Australia, parts of Europe and the United States. The UN has published a list of countries that will be most affected by climate change. It is led by India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

9. climate migrants . Global warming will lead to the fact that by the end of the 21st century, one more category of refugees and migrants may be added - climate. By 2100, the number of climate migrants could reach about 200 million people.

The fact that warming exists, none of the scientists doubt - it's obvious. But there are alternative points of view. For example, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Geography, Professor, Head of the Department of Environmental Management of Moscow State University Andrey Kapitsa considers climate change to be a normal natural phenomenon. There is global warming, it alternates with global cooling.

Supporters "classical" approach to the problem of the greenhouse effect come from the assumption of the Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius about the warming of the atmosphere as a result of the fact that "greenhouse gases" freely pass the sun's rays to the Earth's surface and at the same time delay the radiation of the earth's heat into space. However, the processes of heat transfer in the Earth's atmosphere turned out to be much more complicated. The gas "layer" regulates the flow of solar heat differently than the glass of a backyard greenhouse.

In fact, gases such as carbon dioxide do not cause the greenhouse effect. This has been convincingly proven by Russian scientists. Academician Oleg Sorokhtin, who works at the Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, was the first to create a mathematical theory of the greenhouse effect. From his calculations, confirmed by measurements on Mars and Venus, it follows that even significant emissions of technogenic carbon dioxide into the Earth's atmosphere practically do not change the thermal regime of the Earth and do not create a greenhouse effect. On the contrary, we should expect a slight, fraction of a degree, cooling.

It was not the increased content of CO2 in the atmosphere that led to warming, but As a result of warming, gigantic volumes of carbon dioxide were released into the atmosphere - notice, without any human participation. 95 percent of CO 2 is dissolved in the world's oceans. It is enough for the water column to warm up by half a degree - and the ocean will "exhale" carbon dioxide. Volcanic eruptions and forest fires also make a significant contribution to the pumping of the earth's atmosphere with CO 2 . With all the costs of industrial progress, the emission of greenhouse gases from the pipes of factories and thermal power plants does not exceed a few percent of the total turnover of carbon dioxide in nature.

There are known ice ages that alternated with global warming, and now we are in a period of global warming. Normal climate fluctuations, which are associated with fluctuations in the activity of the Sun and the Earth's orbit. Not with human activity at all.

We managed to look 800 thousand years ago into the past of the Earth thanks to a well drilled in the thickness of a glacier in Antarctica (3800 m).

From the air bubbles preserved in the core, the temperature, age, carbon dioxide content were determined and curves were obtained for about 800 thousand years. According to the ratio of oxygen isotopes in these bubbles, scientists determined the temperature at which snow fell. The data obtained cover most of the Quaternary period. Of course, in the distant past, man could not influence nature. But it was found that the content of CO 2 then changed very much. Moreover, each time it was warming that preceded the increase in the concentration of CO 2 in the air. The theory of the greenhouse effect assumes the reverse sequence.

There are certain ice ages that alternated with periods of warming. Now we are just in a period of warming, and it has been going on since the Little Ice Age, which was in the 15th - 16th centuries, since the 16th century, there has been about one degree of warming per century.

But what is called the "greenhouse effect" - this phenomenon is not a proven fact. Physicists show that CO 2 does not contribute to the greenhouse effect.

In 1998, Frederick Seitz, former president of the US National Academy of Sciences, submitted a petition to the scientific community calling on US and other governments to reject the Kyoto agreements to limit greenhouse gas emissions. The petition was accompanied by an overview, from which it follows that over the past 300 years, warming has been observed on Earth. And the impact of human activity on climate change has not been reliably established. In addition, Seitz argues that increased CO2 stimulates photosynthesis in plants and thus contributes to increased agricultural productivity, accelerated forest growth. The petition was signed by 16,000 scientists. However, the Clinton administration shrugged off these appeals, signaling that the debate about the nature of global climate change was over.

Actually, cosmic factors lead to serious climate changes. The temperature is changed by fluctuations in solar activity, as well as changes in the inclination of the earth's axis, the period of revolution of our planet. Such fluctuations in the past, as is known, led to the onset of ice ages.

Global warming is a political issue. And here there is a struggle of two directions. One direction is those who use fuel, oil, gas, coal. They prove in every possible way that the harm is caused by the transition to nuclear fuel. And supporters of nuclear fuel prove the opposite, that it is just the opposite - gas, oil, coal give CO 2 and cause warming. This is a struggle between two major economic systems.

Publications on this subject are full of gloomy prophecies. I do not agree with such assessments. An increase in the average annual temperature within one degree per century will not lead to fatal consequences. It takes a huge amount of energy to melt the ice of Antarctica, the boundaries of which have practically not narrowed over the entire period of observations. At least in the 21st century, climate cataclysms do not threaten humanity.

The greenhouse effect is an increase in the temperature of the earth's surface due to the heating of the lower atmosphere by the accumulation of greenhouse gases. As a result, the air temperature is higher than it should be, and this leads to such irreversible consequences as climate change and. A few centuries ago, this existed, but was not so obvious. With the development of technology, the number of sources that provide the greenhouse effect in the atmosphere is increasing every year.

Causes of the greenhouse effect

You can not avoid talking about the environment, its pollution, the dangers of the greenhouse effect. To understand the mechanism of this phenomenon, it is necessary to determine its causes, discuss the consequences and decide how to deal with this environmental problem before it is too late. The causes of the greenhouse effect are as follows:

• the use of combustible minerals in industry - coal, oil, natural gas, the combustion of which releases a huge amount of carbon dioxide and other harmful compounds into the atmosphere;
• transport - cars and trucks emit exhaust gases, which also pollute the air and increase the greenhouse effect;
• , which absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, and with the destruction of every tree on the planet, the amount of CO2 in the air increases;
• - another source of destruction of plants on the planet;
• an increase in population affects the increase in demand for food, clothing, housing, and to ensure this, industrial production is growing, which is increasingly polluting the air with greenhouse gases;
• agrochemicals and fertilizers contain varying amounts of compounds that release nitrogen, one of the greenhouse gases, as a result of evaporation;
• the decomposition and burning of garbage in landfills contribute to the increase in greenhouse gases.

The impact of the greenhouse effect on climate

Considering the results of the greenhouse effect, it can be determined that the main one is climate change. Since the air temperature rises every year, the waters of the seas and oceans evaporate more intensively. Some scientists predict that in 200 years such a phenomenon as the "drying" of the oceans, namely a significant decrease in water levels, will become noticeable. This is one side of the problem. The other is that the increase in temperature leads to the melting of glaciers, which contributes to the rise in the water level of the World Ocean, and leads to the flooding of the coasts of continents and islands. The increase in the number of floods and flooding of coastal areas indicates that the level of ocean waters is increasing every year.

An increase in air temperature leads to the fact that areas that are little moistened by precipitation become arid and unsuitable for life. Here, crops are dying, which leads to a food crisis for the population of the area. Also, there is no food for animals, because plants die out due to lack of water.

Many people have become accustomed to weather and climate conditions throughout their lives. As the air temperature rises due to the greenhouse effect, global warming sets in on the planet. Humans can't stand high temperatures. For example, if earlier the average summer temperature was +22-+27, then an increase to +35-+38 leads to sun and heat stroke, dehydration and problems with the cardiovascular system, there is a high risk of stroke. Specialists in abnormal heat give people the following recommendations:

• — reduce the number of movements on the street;
• - reduce physical activity;
• - avoid direct sunlight;
• - increase the consumption of plain purified water up to 2-3 liters per day;
• - cover your head from the sun with a hat;
• - If possible, spend time during the day in a cool room.

How to minimize the greenhouse effect

Knowing how greenhouse gases are created, it is necessary to eliminate their sources in order to stop global warming and other negative consequences of the greenhouse effect. Even one person can change something, and if relatives, friends, acquaintances join him, they will set an example for other people. This is already a much larger number of conscious inhabitants of the planet who will direct their actions to preserve the environment.

First of all, we need to stop deforestation, plant new trees and shrubs, as they absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. Using electric vehicles will reduce the amount of exhaust gases. In addition, you can change from cars to bicycles, which is more convenient, cheaper and safer for the environment. Alternative fuels are also being developed, which, unfortunately, is slowly being introduced into our daily lives.

An entertaining video about the greenhouse effect

The most important solution to the problem of the greenhouse effect is to bring it to the attention of the world public, and also to do everything in our power to reduce the amount of accumulation of greenhouse gases. If you plant a few trees, you will already be a huge help to our planet.

The impact of the greenhouse effect on human health

The consequences of the greenhouse effect primarily affect the climate and the environment, but its impact on human health is no less detrimental. It's like a time bomb: after many years we can see the consequences, but we can't change anything.

Scientists predict that people with a low and unstable financial situation are most susceptible to diseases. If people are malnourished and do not receive some food due to lack of money, this will lead to malnutrition, hunger and the development of diseases (not just the digestive tract). Since abnormal heat sets in in summer due to the greenhouse effect, the number of people with diseases of the cardiovascular system is increasing every year. This is how people's blood pressure rises or falls, heart attacks and epileptic seizures occur, fainting and heat stroke occur.

An increase in air temperature leads to the development of the following diseases and epidemics:

These diseases spread geographically very quickly, as the high temperature of the atmosphere facilitates the movement of various infections and disease vectors. These are various animals and insects such as tsetse flies, encephalitis mites, malarial mosquitoes, birds, mice, etc. From warmer latitudes, these carriers migrate to the north, so people living there are exposed to diseases because they do not have immunity to them.

Thus, the greenhouse effect causes global warming, and this leads to many ailments and infectious diseases. As a result of epidemics, thousands of people die in different countries of the world. By fighting the problem of global warming and the greenhouse effect, we will be able to improve the environment and, as a result, the state of human health.

The problem of the greenhouse effect is especially relevant in our century, when we destroy forests to build another industrial plant, and many of us cannot imagine life without a car. We, like ostriches, hide our heads in the sand, not noticing the harm from our activities. Meanwhile, the greenhouse effect is intensifying and leading to global catastrophes.

The phenomenon of the greenhouse effect has existed since the appearance of the atmosphere, although it was not so noticeable. Nevertheless, its study began long before the active use of cars and.

Brief definition

The greenhouse effect is an increase in the temperature of the lower layers of the planet's atmosphere due to the accumulation of greenhouse gases. Its mechanism is as follows: the sun's rays penetrate the atmosphere, heat the surface of the planet.

The thermal radiation that comes from the surface should return to space, but the lower atmosphere is too dense for them to penetrate. The reason for this is greenhouse gases. Heat rays linger in the atmosphere, increasing its temperature.

History of greenhouse effect research

For the first time they started talking about the phenomenon in 1827. Then Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier's article "Note on the Temperatures of the Globe and Other Planets" appeared, where he detailed his ideas about the mechanism of the greenhouse effect and the reasons for its appearance on Earth. In his research, Fourier relied not only on his own experiments, but also on the judgments of M. De Saussure. The latter conducted experiments with a glass vessel blackened from the inside, closed and placed under sunlight. The temperature inside the vessel was much higher than outside. This is due to such a factor: thermal radiation cannot pass through darkened glass, which means it remains inside the container. At the same time, sunlight boldly penetrates through the walls, since the outside of the vessel remains transparent.

Multiple Formulas

The total energy of solar radiation absorbed per unit time by a planet with radius R and spherical albedo A is equal to:

E = πR2 ( E_0 over R2) (1 – A),

where E_0 is the solar constant and r is the distance to the Sun.

In accordance with the Stefan-Boltzmann law, the equilibrium thermal radiation L of a planet with radius R, that is, the area of ​​the radiating surface 4πR2:

L=4πR2 σTE^4,

where TE is the effective temperature of the planet.

Causes

The nature of the phenomenon is explained by the different transparency of the atmosphere for radiation from space and from the surface of the planet. The atmosphere of the planet is transparent to the sun's rays, like glass, and therefore they easily pass through it. And for thermal radiation, the lower layers of the atmosphere are "impenetrable", too dense to pass through. That is why part of the thermal radiation remains in the atmosphere, gradually descending to its lowest layers. At the same time, the amount of greenhouse gases condensing the atmosphere is growing.

Back in school, we were taught that the main cause of the greenhouse effect is human activity. Evolution has led us to industry, we burn tons of coal, oil and gas, we get fuel, the consequence of this is the release of greenhouse gases and substances into the atmosphere. Among them are water vapor, methane, carbon dioxide, nitric oxide. Why they are so named is understandable. The surface of the planet is heated by the sun's rays, but it necessarily "gives" some of the heat back. Thermal radiation that comes from the Earth's surface is called infrared.

Greenhouse gases in the lower part of the atmosphere prevent heat rays from returning to space, delaying them. As a result, the average temperature of the planet is increasing, and this leads to dangerous consequences.

Is there really nothing that can regulate the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere? Of course it can. Oxygen does this job well. But here's the problem - the number of the planet's population is growing inexorably, which means that more and more oxygen is being absorbed. Our only salvation is vegetation, especially forests. They absorb excess carbon dioxide, emit much more oxygen than humans consume.

Greenhouse effect and Earth's climate

When we talk about the consequences of the greenhouse effect, we understand its impact on the Earth's climate. The first is global warming. Many equate the concepts of "greenhouse effect" and "global warming", but they are not equal, but interrelated: the first is the cause of the second.

Global warming is directly related to the oceans. Here is an example of two causal relationships.

1. The average temperature of the planet rises, the liquid begins to evaporate. This also applies to the World Ocean: some scientists are afraid that in a couple of hundred years it will begin to “dry up”.
2. At the same time, due to high temperatures, glaciers and sea ice will begin to actively melt in the near future. This will lead to an inevitable rise in the level of the World Ocean.

We are already seeing regular floods in coastal areas, but if the level of the World Ocean rises significantly, all the nearby land areas will be flooded, crops will die.

Impact on people's lives

Do not forget that the increase in the average temperature of the Earth will affect our lives. The consequences can be very serious. Many territories of our planet, already prone to drought, will become absolutely unviable, people will begin to migrate en masse to other regions. This will inevitably lead to socio-economic problems, to the beginning of the third and fourth world wars. Lack of food, destruction of crops - that's what awaits us in the next century.

But is it necessary to wait? Or is it still possible to change something? Can humanity reduce the harm from the greenhouse effect?

Actions that can save the Earth

To date, all the harmful factors that lead to the accumulation of greenhouse gases are known, and we know what needs to be done to stop this. Do not think that one person will not change anything. Of course, only all of humanity can achieve an effect, but who knows - maybe a hundred more people are reading a similar article at that moment?

Forest conservation

Stop deforestation. Plants are our salvation! In addition, it is necessary not only to preserve existing forests, but also to actively plant new ones.

Everyone should understand this problem.

Photosynthesis is so powerful that it can provide us with a huge amount of oxygen. It will be enough for the normal life of people and the elimination of harmful gases from the atmosphere.

Use of electric vehicles

Refusal to use cars on fuel. Every car emits a huge amount of greenhouse gases every year, so why not opt ​​for a healthy environment? Scientists are already offering us electric vehicles – environmentally friendly cars that do not use fuel. Minus the "fuel" car - another step towards the elimination of greenhouse gases. All over the world they are trying to accelerate this transition, but so far the current developments of such machines are far from perfect. Even in Japan, where there is the greatest use of such cars, they are not ready to completely switch to their use.

Alternative to hydrocarbon fuel

The invention of alternative energy. Humanity does not stand still, so why are we "stuck" on the use of coal, oil and gas? The burning of these natural components leads to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, so it's time to switch to an environmentally friendly form of energy.

We cannot completely abandon everything that emits harmful gases. But we can contribute to an increase in oxygen in the atmosphere. Not only a real man must plant a tree - every person must do this!

What is the most important thing in solving any problem? Don't close your eyes to her. We may not notice the harm from the greenhouse effect, but future generations will definitely notice. We can stop burning coal and oil, preserve the natural vegetation of the planet, abandon the conventional car in favor of an environmentally friendly one - and all for what? In order for our Earth to exist after us.