Greenhouse Effect

What is the greenhouse effect?

The greenhouse effect can be visualized as follows: Imagine that

Earth has been encircled by a giant glass sphere. The heat of
the sun penetrates through the glass. Some of the heat is
absorbed by the Earth, and some of it is radiated back towards
space. The radiated heat reaches the glass sphere and is
prevented from dispersing any further.

Similarly, the earth is surrounded by a blanket of gases. This

blanket traps energy in the atmosphere, much the same way as
glass traps heat inside a greenhouse. This results in an
accumulation of energy, and the overall warming of the
atmosphere. The 'greenhouse effect' is the popular expression
for the above process.

Global warming and climate change result from the greenhouse

effect. The consequences of global warming and climate change
could well include:

• the eradication of entire ecosystems

• increased frequency and intensity of storms, hurricanes,
floods and droughts
• melting glaciers and polar ice
• rising sea levels resulting in the permanent flooding of vast
areas of heavily
• increased frequency of forest fires
• spread of tropical diseases due to insect proliferation
 WHAT CAUSES THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT?

The greenhouse effect is caused by gases in the atmosphere which

have the ability to absorb the sun's energy that is usually radiated
back into space from Earth. Energy from the sun comes into the earth
as short-wave radiation; some is absorbed and some is radiated back
as long-wave radiation. The 'greenhouse gases' allow the short-wave
radiation to pass through to Earth but absorb the long-wave radiation
that is reflected back to space. These gases include naturally
occurring gases - primarily water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane,
nitrous oxides - as well as industrial chemicals such as
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

The problem is that human activities have increased the atmospheric

concentration of these gases well beyond their natural levels, and
have introduced new greenhouse gases, such as CFCs. This in turn is
throwing the natural climatic systems off balance.

One of the major greenhouse gases from human sources is carbon

dioxide (CO2). While CO2 is naturally occurring, its concentration in the
atmosphere is rapidly increasing because of the burning of the fossil
fuels- oil, coal and gas.

Human activity is not only producing more CO2, but is also severely
damaging the ability of the earth to absorb carbon, via its carbon
sinks, the forests and oceanic plankton. Growing forests absorb CO2.
Massive worldwide forest destruction results in much fewer trees to
soak up CO2, and releases the stored CO2 from the trees into the
atmosphere.

Similarly, the destruction of the ozone layer by human-made

chemicals, such as CFCs, is allowing increased levels of harmful UV-B
radiation to reach the surface of the earth. Increased levels of UV-B
radiation could reduce the density of plankton in the oceans. Since
plankton are the primary carbon sink of the planet, reduction in their
density could result in less CO2 being absorbed from the atmosphere.

Damage to the planet's carbon sinks, through deforestation and

ozone layer depletion, thus makes a direct contribution to the
enhanced greenhouse effect.