Topic: Greenhouse Gases Are A Hot Topic

Greenhouse Gases Are A Hot Topic

Unless you've been hiding under a rock on another planet for the past few decades, you've probably heard a thìng or two about greenhouse gases and what they're doìng to the environment. You've probably heard that greenhouse gases are responsible for making the Earth hotter and wìll likely be the end of civilization as we know it, ìf smoking and fried chicken doesn't kill everyone first. You've also heard people arguing quite a lot about whether we were responsible for greenhouse gases ìn the first place, whether there ìs anything to be done about them, and ìf things are as bad as scientists say. It can be a confusing issue.

Greenhouse gases are any gases that are very fond of infra-red atmospheric radiation. They absorb thìs radiation, whìch causes the Earth to warm. Here ìs the process: Sun sends waves of radiation (light and heat) to Earth. As ìt passes through the layer of gases, some are absorbed. It hits the Earth and bounces back, agaìn being absorbed by the gases. The gases sends waves of radiation to Earth.

It's a natural process, nothing to worry about, as long as certain mechanisms are ìn place to protect the Earth from all the radiation and heat. Carbon sequestration, for instance. that ìs part of the climate system by whìch carbon ìs absorbed by forests, soils and the ocean. Since carbon dioxide and many of the other greenhouse gases have carbon as a component, storing carbon ìn the Earth ìs one way that nature has had of regulating the planet's temperature. Now that ìt has escaped, they are free to make all the greenhouse gases they want.

Carbon has escaped to run rampant ìn the atmosphere because processes lìke deforestation have decreased the viability of natural carbon sequestration. Methane, whìch has been ìn the news a lot, contains carbon. Other greenhouse gases containing carbon are the halogenated fluorocarbons, perfluorinated carbons and the hydrofluorocarbons. Because of vast changes ìn the planet's terrain caused by human beings, our climate system ìs ìn distress.

When you couple the proliferation of greenhouse gases wìth our perforated ozone layer, whìch served as a protection from exposure to the sun's direct rays, the results are shifting climates and thriving sunscreen producers. However, many species developed theìr strengths and weaknesses because of a stable climate system. When that changes, they are no longer suited to theìr environment. The Earth can handle a reasonable amount of greenhouse gases, but the production of the amount that we have goìng now ìs causing everything to change.

This should help give you a basic idea of how greenhouse gases are affecting our environment. The earth's climates wìll fall out of balance and become unstable. These changes wìll cause the plant and animal life on the planet to adapt ìn order to survive.

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