In the article Does Air Pollution Help Reduce Global Warming by Evan Galloway, the author starts off with naming some of the many contributors to global warming. One example he uses is a fossil fuel that we know as coal. Galloway goes on to describe what is released from the coal when it is burned (which is carbon dioxide and sulfate) and the affect it has on our atmosphere. When sulfate is released into the air it forms aerosols, which contribute to our pollution and acid rain. (Galloway, 2009) Lina M. Mercado of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in the United Kingdom and other colleagues, discovered new evidence that suggest aerosols might actually help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. The new research presented by …show more content…
There is no doubt that these effects contribute to global dimming. However when a model of the effect of aerosols were performed by Mercado and colleagues, they found that aerosols increase the use of sunlight. An example used by Galloway explains the concept of aerosols increasing the use of sunlight: if you let a water hose flow freely, the first few buckets will get full and overflow, but the other buckets would get no water at all. When a spray attachment is added all buckets would receive water and none will overflow, so no water is wasted. (Galloway, 2009) The example used by Galloway above is the same way plants work. When light is shining on one leaf, its receiving more sunlight than it actually needs. If the light is scattered, more leaves will have a chance of receiving sunlight, exposing shadowed leaves to more light as well. Although the leaves will be getting less light, the rest would be used for photosynthesis. None of the sunlight goes wasted. It is known that most climate models take only global dimming into account. Those models show us that increasing levels of aerosol in our atmosphere have caused a 15% loss in carbon dioxide intake by plants. But when Mercado and colleagues included the aerosols effect of light scattering, they found instead a 10 % increase in the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by plants. (Galloway, 2009) Galloway concludes the article with saying that the conclusion shouldn’t be that
Obtaining energy by the means of burning fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and natural gas, is unsustainable and raises environmental concerns. Gases like carbon dioxide, as well as other toxic pollutants, are released into the atmosphere when these fossil fuels are burned. This contributes to air pollution, the greenhouse effect, and ultimately global warming. When carbon dioxide is exposed to the air, heat is trapped and is unable to escape into space, leading to the rise in global temperatures. Pollution in the air can cause diseases in living organisms,
The article primarily appeals to individuals with interest in global warming. The main point that Wood focuses on is the idea of sulfur-aerosol injection, in which sulfur dioxide would be pumped into the sky. However, there are several issues with this concept that he addresses in his article.
Reduced air quality: Fine particulate matter, exhausts, burning of fossil fuels, and pesticides are a few things that exert greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere affecting the climate change. Reduced air quality poses a great risk to public health and has been linked to asthma, heart and lung damage, respiratory diseases, and premature deaths.
More broadly, what does this demonstration show us about the greenhouse effect in the Earth’s atmosphere?
While this is true, it is still very damaging to our atmosphere. See what happens is, carbon dioxide or other harmful gases are released into our atmosphere, and become trapped. They are unable to escape, causing the gases to bounce back down into our air raising the earth's temperature. This in turn causes problems for global warming by temperature
In recent years, global warming and climate change has become an increasing topic of concern. The article that I chose to write about revolves around greenhouse gas emissions, their causes and their sources. I selected this article because it talks about the effects of solar radiation and the greenhouse effect. This is something that has been recently discovered in the past couple of decades regarding the effects of greenhouse gases and how it affects global warming. The article goes into detail about solar radiation and how it can impact the temperature of the earth. It
When the sun’s radiation reaches our atmosphere, some is reflected back into space and some passes through and is absorbed by the Earth. This causes the surface of the Earth to warm up. Heat released from the Earth is radiated outward and absorbed by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This process prevents heat from disappearing into space and keeps Earth warm enough to sustain life. Some human activities, such as burning fossil fuels, intensify the warming effect by releasing additional greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These gases include carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Carbon dioxide is considered a relatively weak gas; however, so much of it is released that it has the largest impact on the enhanced greenhouse effect. Carbon dioxide is primarily produced by the burning of fossil fuels in cars, power plants, and factories. About three-fourths of the carbon dioxide added to the air comes from burning fossil
Burning coal to generate electricity releases energy and transfers CO_2 (g) into the atmospheric carbon reservoir (Figure 7.12, BK1, pg 112). Here the increased proportion of CO_2 (g) available to emit infrared radiation, means our atmosphere is emitting more radiation for absorption at the surface than is being lost, which then
I think climate change is caused by human neglect and unconscious spoiled behavior. Through this behavior and neglect a buildup of greenhouse gases has occurred through everyday living. Humans choose to drive and use gas powered equipment and machinery over electric powered ones. Gas powered byproducts cause pollution, adds to a buildup of greenhouse gases.Products used in our daily lives for personal hygiene and daily living contain CFC’s a big cause of green houses gases, which I believe is the true culprit of climate change. These greenhouse gases are called Carbon dioxide,Methane,Nitrous oxide and Halocarbons. All four gases can affect climate change. My evidence for this is ‘“when humans burn coal oil,and (fossil fuel) to generate
Cutting down and losing trees and forests plays a big factor in the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. Since plants use carbon dioxide to grow and the trees are being cut down the carbon dioxide is just trapped in the atmosphere because there are not enough trees to take it in as a resource and use it as a nutrient. There is too much extra carbon dioxide in the air.
Global Warming is created by man- made air pollution. Burning coal is a leading cause of smog, acid rain, and toxic air pollution. Some emissions can be greatly reduced with new available pollution controls, but most U.S. coal plants have not installed these technologies yet. Coal plants are sending 1,000 degree steam through the pipes on top of the buildings into the atmosphere. These scorching temperatures of steam have
Carbon Dioxide plays a key role in the atmosphere. This gas has properties that allow it to sustain and hold in heat, which in turn warms the planet (EIA, 2004). Carbon, the primary component of carbon dioxide; is also the essential molecule for life and is the most basic building block found in all organic compounds. Human activities been blamed for the disruption of the earth’s natural carbon cycles and according to some studies, carbon is being added to the atmosphere faster than the natural processes that sequestrate it. The massive carbon sinks that naturally regulated and fixated excess carbon dioxide have been destroyed as humans have deforested ancient forests for the
• Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas that warms the atmosphere. • Since pre-industrial times, atmospheric CO2 concentrations have increased from about 280 parts per million (ppm) to over 380 ppm. Current concentrations of CO2 and other greenhouse gases are unprecedented in at least the last 650,000 years, based on records from gas bubbles trapped in polar ice. • Independent measurements demonstrate that the increased CO2 in the atmosphere comes
Burning these fossil fuels releases harmful pollutants into the environment, with the main one being carbon dioxide. The release of carbon dioxide is the primary cause of global warming, which in itself is a serious threat to Earth. Along with causing global warming, the release of carbon dioxide leads to air pollution. Air pollution is dangerous to the various ecosystems of Earth, and also to humans.
Anthropogenic emissions of CO2 and other trace gases affect the atmosphere, ocean, biosphere and cryosphere (IPCC, 2014). These components of the climate system stimulate interactions between each other ranging from synoptic to microscale processes and including everything in between. Since the industrial revolution, human-produced emissions have been changing the world around us (IPCC, 2014). The phenomenon of having greenhouse gases and aerosols in the atmosphere is natural and necessary to support life on Earth. However, the buildup of greenhouse gases