Greenhouse Gases, Climate Change, and Energy - Essay Example

Heavy industrialization is believed to be the major reason for the increase in the quantity of greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is the major greenhouse gas that causes atmospheric temperature rise. “During the past 20 years, about three-quarters of human-made carbon dioxide emissions were from burning fossil fuels” (Greenhouse Gases, Climate Change, and Energy). The number of automobiles that use fossil fuels is growing day by day along with the number of industrial units in the world.

Both automobiles and industrial units are liberating huge amounts of greenhouse gases and these greenhouse gases absorb all the thermal energy reaching Earth and prevent any thermal energy from reflecting. Earlier, there was a balance between the thermal energy reaching Earth from the sun and the thermal energy reflected from Earth and that is why climate changes were not much common earlier. However, at present, most of the thermal energy reaching on earth’s surface from the sun is staying in the atmosphere itself because of the increase in the number of greenhouse gases and subsequently atmospheric temperature increases. Atmospheric temperature increase result in weather changes, sea level rise, and unexpected natural calamities.

Approximately 75% of that upward radiated long-wave energy is absorbed by water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases. Since this absorption process is molecular, the subsequent re-radiation of energy by these gases is multidirectional. As a result, about 50% of the long wave emission is reradiated back toward the Earth where it is once again turned into heat energy (Greenhouse Gas)

“Methane is emitted during the production and transport of coal, natural gas, and oil. Nitrous oxide is emitted during agricultural and industrial activities, as well as during combustion of fossil fuels and solid waste”(Greenhouse Gases, Climate Change, and Energy). Plants liberate oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide. In other words, human needs oxygen for survival whereas plants need carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. The amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide remained constant in the earth’s atmosphere earlier because of these complementing processes. However, deforestation prevented plants from liberating more oxygen and absorbing more carbon dioxide. At the same time, industrialization increased the amount of carbon dioxide further in the atmosphere. In both ways, the amount of carbon dioxide goes on increasing in the atmosphere which is the reason why atmospheric temperature gradually rises.

To conclude, greenhouse gases are gases that can absorb and radiate thermal energy. Heavy industrialization and the increase in automobile use increased greenhouse gas content in the earth’s atmosphere and subsequently,y whether changes and unexpected natural calamities are increasing. Read More