Global Warming & Greenhouse Effect :>

Be Aware of Global Warming otherwise we'll lost our lovely Earth!

What is Global warming & relation with Green House Gases?
Greenhouse effect:
The earth receives energy from the sun, which warms the earth's surface. As this energy passes through the atmosphere, a certain percentage (about 30) gets scattered. Some part of this energy is reflected back into the atmosphere from the land and ocean surface. The rest (70%) actually remains behind to heat the earth. In order to establish a balance, therefore, the earth must radiate some energy back into the atmosphere. As the earth is much cooler than the sun, it does not emit energy as visible light. It emits through infrared or thermal radiation.

However, certain gases in the atmosphere form a sort of blanket around the earth and absorb some of this energy emitted back into the atmosphere. Without this blanket effect, the earth would be around 30 ° C colder than it normally is. These gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, along with water vapour, comprise less than one per cent of the atmosphere. They are called 'greenhouse gases' as the working principle is same as that which occurs in a greenhouse. Just as the glass of the greenhouse prevents the radiation of excess energy, this 'gas blanket' absorbs some of the energy emitted by the earth and keeps temperature levels intact. This effect was first recognized by a French scientist, Jean-Baptiste Fourier, who pointed out the similarity in what happens in the atmosphere and in a greenhouse. Hence the term the 'greenhouse effect'.

Scientists have known about the greenhouse effect since 1824, when Joseph Fourier calculated that the Earth would be much colder if it had no atmosphere. This greenhouse effect is what keeps the Earth's climate livable. Without it, the Earth's surface would be an average of about 60 degrees Fahrenheit cooler. In 1895, the Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius discovered that humans could enhance the greenhouse effect by making carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. He kicked off 100 years of climate research that has given us a sophisticated understanding of global warming.
Humankind upsets this balance when new sources that interfere with the natural sinks are introduced. Carbon dioxide is released when we burn such fuels as coal, oil, and natural gas. And, when we destroy forests, the carbon stored in the trees escapes as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Increasing agricultural activities, changes in land-use patterns, and other sources lead to rising levels of methane and nitrous oxide. Industrial processes also release artificial and new greenhouse gases like CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), while automobile exhaust fumes lead to ozone generation. The resulting enhanced greenhouse effect is more commonly referred to as global warming or climate change.
Global Warming:
Global warming is caused by green house gases, which trap in the sun's infrared rays in the earth's atmosphere, which in turn heat up the earth's atmosphere. These green house effect warming is called as global warming. The effects of green house effect are visible more prominently in the recent years, with number of natural calamities on the rise in the whole world.
The global warming has happened in the past few years and is evident from the rise in mean temperature of the earth's atmosphere. The main causes for the global warming are attributed to release of green house gases by human activities. The main gases contributing to green house effect are carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane and nitrous oxide. The largest producers of these gases are the thermal power plants, which burn the fossil fuels and produce these gases in large quantities. The second biggest sources of these green house gases are the road vehicles and industries.
The Dangerous Thing:

The global warming has led to increase in mean earth surface temperature and thus melting of polar ice. There are frequent melt down of glaciers that result in floods and other natural calamities. The melting of ice at the poles had led the mean sea level. And further increase in temperature may further melt the ice and lead to further increase in mean sea level, which will engulf low lying countries.
The effect of global warming is very evident on the animal kingdom also. Some animals have become extinct due to loss of their natural habitat or their inability to evolve to the rapid changes in the climate. Also there is a change in their life style because of the changes in the seasons. The migrating birds have changed their time of travel and also their place of migration.
The effect of global warming can be felt on seasons too. There is shift in season cycle, as the summers are getting longer than the winters. This has affected the animals and made them to change their lifestyle accordingly, and those who failed to do so have perished or on the verge of extinction.
The global warming is also responsible for the introduction of some new diseases. The bacteria are more effective and multiply much faster in warmer temperatures compared to cold temperatures. The increase in temperature has led to increase in the microbes that cause diseases.
Global warming is also effecting the crop production, as the crops are getting destroyed by the sudden change in temperatures or sudden on set of rains. Also the flash floods and other natural calamities affect the crop.
As a matter of fact, because of global warming, the earth's atmosphere is getting more unpredictable with heavy rains in the areas, which have scanty rainfall or drought in the areas, which received good annual rainfall. The months of rainfall has also getting affected.
Solutions for Global Warming:

Even if we stopped emitting greenhouse gases (GHGs) today, the Earth would still warm by another degree Fahrenheit or so. But what we do from today forward makes a big difference. Depending on our choices, scientists predict that the Earth could eventually warm by as little as 2.5 degrees or as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit.
A commonly cited goal is to stabilize GHG concentrations around 450-550 parts per million (ppm), or about twice pre-industrial levels. This is the point at which many believe the most damaging impacts of climate change can be avoided. Current concentrations are about 380 ppm, which means there isn't much time to lose. According to the IPCC, we'd have to reduce GHG emissions by 50% to 80% of what they're on track to be in the next century to reach this level.

Researchers Stephen Pacala and Robert Socolow at Princeton University have suggested one approach that they call "stabilization wedges." This means reducing GHG emissions from a variety of sources with technologies available in the next few decades, rather than relying on an enormous change in a single area. They suggest 7 wedges that could each reduce emissions, and all of them together could hold emissions at approximately current levels for the next 50 years, putting us on a potential path to stabilize around 500 ppm.
There are many possible wedges, including improvements to energy efficiency and vehicle fuel economy (so less energy has to be produced), and increases in wind and solar power, hydrogen produced from renewable sources, biofuels (produced from crops), natural gas, and nuclear power. There is also the potential to capture the carbon dioxide emitted from fossil fuels and store it underground-a process called "carbon sequestration."
In addition to reducing the gases we emit to the atmosphere, we can also increase the amount of gases we take out of the atmosphere. Plants and trees absorb CO2 as they grow, "sequestering" carbon naturally. Increasing forestlands and making changes to the way we farm could increase the amount of carbon we're storing.

For More Details plz click on following link:

1 Animated Details on The Greenhouse Effect:

National Geographic Channel

2. Also Check:
Global warming - Wikipedia