GREENHOUSE EFFECT, THE CARBON CYCLE AND CLIMATE CHANGE

GREENHOUSE EFFECT, THE CARBON CYCLE AND CLIMATE CHANGE

The earth is not been doing too well recently.Its average temperature is rising.
The first thing we need to know is that thanks to the greenhouse effect we have the climate to which mankind has been used to for thousands of years. And that thanks also to the carbon cycle, this greenhouse effect has been maintained in an equilibrium. The problem is that all this is changing.And that is not good.

Let us first look at what the greenhouse effect is.The earth, that is the atmosphere which surrounds it
and the sun .The sun emits solar rays which warm the surface of the earth and generate heat. Heat tends to move away, but certain gases in the atmosphere prevent it from escaping and return some of this heat to the surface making life on Earth, as we know it,possible. This is the greenhouse effect, and it is easy to understand. how important it is for all of us.

So why do we say that the greenhouse effect is a bad thing?

Now, our atmosphere is composed of many different gases.just like PHC SF6 CH4 CO2 N2O HFC.
But only these gases retain heat. Of this group, more than 70% of heat is retained by CO2, or carbon dioxide. In other words, it is this gas which is main contributor to the greenhouse effect.And so what happens if we increase the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere? The atmosphere is going to retain more heat than before? And that is what is causing the average temperature of our planet to rise.Since the time of the industrial revolution in the 18th century,the amount CO2 has been increasing through the burning of fossil fuels like oil,coal and gas. In other words; because of factories,industries, transport and, above all, the generating of energy. It is this increasing in temperature that is responsible for rising sea levels and the greater frequency and intensity of droughts, flooding, storms, the disappearance of the glacies, etc.