The Greenhouse Gas Emission Essay Example

is any form of a gaseous substance that is in the atmosphere and has the capability to absorb infrared radiation from the sun, causing heat to be trapped and held in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases causes greenhouse effect when the heat is trapped in the atmosphere which consequently leads to global warming when they are released in the atmosphere. This is due to the fact that not all the radiation form the sun is reflected back out of the earth’s atmosphere, Source: Guo, L., Gunasekara, A., & McConnell, L. (2011). Understanding greenhouse gas emissions

Solar Energy and the Greenhouse Effect

The sun is responsible for the production of enormous amounts of radiation which is emitted to the earth’s surface. In the earth’s atmosphere, these radiations strike in the form of visible light, infrared, ultraviolet light and other types of radiations that can be seen using the human eyes. According to NASA, close to about thirty percent of the radiation that reaches the earth from the sun is reflected back out of the earth space by such things as clouds, ice and other surfaces that have reflective properties.

The greater amount of the radiation around seventy percent are absorbed by the land, sea and atmosphere (Guo, Gunasekara & McConnell, 2011). Source: ChemViews,. (2013). Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the Chemical Industry. There is a balance between the radiation given out by the sun and the ones that are reflected back; the balance is responsible for maintaining the temperature of the earth to about fifteen degrees Celsius. Like the land, the atmosphere and water bodies absorb the radiation and get heated; they then release IR thermal radiation which is released

out of the atmosphere into space.

The IR radiations emitted are usually weaker and are no able to go through the glass walls thus causing warming in the greenhouse since they are trapped inside. When the radiations are trapped in the atmosphere they result to increased temperatures on the earth. The temperatures rise to intolerable levels in such areas that normally have very high temperatures.

Greenhouse Gasses and Global Warming

The gases found in the atmosphere that have the ability to trap and absorb radiations are the ones responsible for the greenhouse effect are the ones referred to greenhouse gases.

Global warming is usually as a result of the greenhouse effect from the greenhouse gashouse emissions (ChemViews, 2012). The most typical greenhouses gases are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane(ch4), nitrous oxide(N2oO), water vapour (H2O) and fluorinated gases like those which are emitted from the air-conditioners, refrigerators, foams and aerosol cans. Source: ChemViews,. (2012). Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Despite the fact that oxygen is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere, it does not cause a greenhouse effect; this is because the gas does not contain the properties of absorbing and retaining heat.

Source: Levitt, J. (2010). Reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Some people do argue that global warming is a natural course and their justification is that the process has been occurring since time immemorial, unfortunately, the amount of gases that have been released into the atmosphere over the recent past. The industrial revolution has been attributed to the increase of carbon dioxide release (Freebairn, 2011). According to the comparisons made between the amount of rising in the carbon dioxide level in the ice ages and the interglacial periods, the industrial revolution

has increased the amount by a hundred times as compared to the two for durations.

Fluorinated gases include sulphur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons and the other is perfluorocarbons which are produced by industries and factories, and they are also categorised as greenhouse gases. Though they compose a small concentration in the air, they trap heat very effectively making them have a high potential of causing global warming. There are three factors that influence that magnitude with which gas will cause global warming, which is its concentration in the atmosphere, the duration it has been in the atmosphere and its global warming potential. Carbon dioxide has been regarded as the worst when it comes to global warming.

This is because it is the most abundant in the atmosphere as compared to others and can stay in the atmosphere for thousands of years. However, methane would be the worst since it has a high global warming potential as compared to carbon dioxide, the only better thing about it is that its period of existence in the atmosphere is ten years (Wilkinson, 2012).

Sources of Greenhouse Gases

Methane gas is usually produced from agricultural practices and livestock manure making. Gases like carbon dioxide are released from processes of respiration and burning of feedstock such as coal, oil, and liquefied petroleum gases. Source: ChemViews,.

(2012). Greenhouse Gas Emissions In the United States of America, the production of electricity accounts forty percent emission of carbon dioxide which is very harmful when it comes to global warming. The other source of carbon dioxide is the burning of trees and deforestation. When trees are burned to provide heat and in the production of goods, the give out

the carbon dioxide they have stored to be utilized for photosynthesis.

The burning of tree releases billion of turns of carbon and its compounds into the atmosphere in one year (Verifying greenhouse gas emissions, 2010).

Effects of Global Warming

According to NASA, 2014 was one of the hottest years ever experienced in history and one of the ten warmest years recorded since 1998 (Deng, 2015). The increased warm observed in this year was associated to affect the atmospheric circulation that has affected global rainfall patterns. The changes in the rainfall due to the global warming were felt in all parts of the word. Scientist argues that if such trends of global warming go on, the worst effects of global warming are likely to be faced (ChemViews, 2013).

These effects include the rise in the sea water levels, extreme weather changes, extinction of plant and animals, rise in the acidity of the oceans, major climatic changes, and unprecedented social problems. The other worst problem will be the depletion of the ozone layer which sieves the radiation from the sun. Source: Levitt, J. (2010). Reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Effect of Global Warming on Human Health

Global warming is associated with warming of oceans and changes in climate that culminate to extreme weather condition which has led to the spread of infectious diseases and emergent of new ones.

Extreme weather such as the El Niño that increases precipitation, leading to flooding that creates breeding grounds for vectors that carry infectious degasses. Apart from flooding, there are hurricanes and high winds that result in spread of infectious diseases. Warmer climate creates a favourable environment for breeding of mosquitoes leading to the rise of

malaria infection to the populations. The ticks thrive well in warm climates. Therefore, the blue legged tick has been observed to increase in population resulting in an increase in the infection of Lyme diseases.

In the oceans, the cholera bacteria are favoured by an increase in nitrogen and phosphorous which favour the vegetative ability of water. Over the recent past, studies have revealed that unstable climatic changes have an impact on the mental health of individuals and their wellbeing. Clayton and Doherty, American psychologists, affirmed the fact that global climate change influence negatively. There are cases of o trauma due to extreme weather changes and environmental changes. There are also indirect effects on the emotions of people based on the observation of the climate causing concerns and future risks. Social disruptions due to extreme weather events lead to psychological trauma to the society due to such issues such as displacements on the losses incurred in the long run.

Where drying up arises, the people struggle to look for water, and they have a problem with plants. Dryness causes drought and famine leading to the deterioration of the life of the people affected. Increased temperatures have an effect on the livestock. The effects can are seen when the animals have difficulties in eating, and the food available for them is limited.

The productivity of these animal declines and this problem is felt by the farmers and the consumers at large.

Management of the Greenhouse Gases

Replanting of trees will reverse the release of the carbon dioxide; they will absorb the gas and store it for use for photosynthesis reducing the concentration it the atmosphere. However, trees alone and other

agricultural practices cannot reduce the recent rate of release of carbon dioxide. The measure should be put in place to minimise the amount of it released through the burning of feedstock such as fossil fuels (Guo, Gunasekara & McConnell, 2011), (Levitt, 2010).

Source: Levitt, J. (2010). Reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The industries that release much of these gases should be fitted with green catalysts in the chimneys to reduce the volumes of these gases that are produced. Like how the government pledged to see into it that the eradication of emission of the chlorofluorocarbons into the atmosphere, they should enact strict to measures that help reduce environmental pollution.

Clear rules and regulations should be put in place and he relevant bodies to be established to ensure the enforcement of the laws created. The people should be educated on the dangers that lurk ahead due to activities leading to the rise of global warming. Use of biodegradable substances should be encouraged and the use of renewable feedstocks such as the solar energy both in the industries and at the domestic level (Wilkinson, 2012). The products released by the industries should meet the environmental standards. Protection of the environment awareness campaigns should be conducted to all spheres of the earth and take environmental care as each and every individual's responsibility.

Beginning with the junior schools, the society should be brought up with a sense of responsibility of understanding that its individual and communal duty to be mindful of the environment. In conclusion, global warming is a human being-made problem due to their release of greenhouses gases to the atmosphere. The man is also the solution by engaging in activities meant to

counter or remedy the situation. Man should not wait until the problem leads him to close to extinction for him to act, otherwise he will find it’s too late to change and wait to suffer in distress with little or nothing to do.

References

1. ChemViews,. (2012). Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Chemviews. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chemv.201000152
2. ChemViews,. (2013). Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the Chemical Industry. Chemviews. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chemv.201300022
3. Freebairn, J. (2011). Tax mix change to reduce greenhouse gas emissions*. Australian Journal Of Agricultural And Resource Economics, 56(1), 102-116. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8489.2011.00559.x
4. Guo, L., Gunasekara, A., ; McConnell, L.

   (2011). Understanding greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural management. Washington, DC: American Chemical Society.

5. Levitt, J. (2010). Reducing greenhouse gas emissions. New York: Nova Science Publishers. Verifying greenhouse gas emissions. (2010).

   Washington, D.C.

6. Wilkinson, J. (2012). Livestock systems and greenhouse gas emissions. Livestock, 17(6), 35-37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-3870.2012.00151.x
7. Deng, B.

   (2015). 2014 was the hottest year on record. Nature. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature.2015.16674