ARE WE GREEN ENOUGH??

Holla guys!!!!...for this new entry..as usual we will stress about the environment and focusing on the greenhouse effect ..First and foremost..what is greehouse effect?owhh..no..greenhouse is not about the house that had been painted by the green colour. That is totally wrong..actually greenhouse effect is a term that refers to a physical property of the Earth's atmosphere. If the Earth had no atmosphere, its average surface temperature would be very low of about -18¢J rather than the comfortable 15¢J found today.

The difference in temperature is due to a suite of gases called greenhouse gases which affect the overall energy balance of the Earth's system by absorbing infra-red radiation. In its existing state, the Earth-atmosphere system balances absorption of solar radiation by emission of infrared radiation to space. Due to greenhouse gases, the atmosphere absorbs more infrared energy than it re-radiates to space, resulting in a net warming of the Earth-atmosphere system and of surface temperature. This is the Natural Greenhouse Effect. With more greenhouse gases released to the atmosphere due to human activity, more infrared radiation will be trapped in the Earth's surface which contributes to the enhanced greenhouse effect.

Consequences of Enhanced Greenhouse Effect

i) Global Warming

Increase of greenhouse gases concentration causes a reduction in outgoing infrared radiation, thus the Earth's climate must change somehow to restore the balance between incoming and outgoing radiation. This climatic change will include a global warming of the Earth's surface and the lower atmosphere as warming up is the simplest way for the climate to get rid of the extra energy. However, a small rise in temperature will induce many other changes, for example, cloud cover and wind patterns. Some of these changes may act to enhance the warming (positive feedbacks), others to counteract it (negative feedbacks).

ii) Sea Level Rise

If global warming takes place, sea level will rise due to two different processes. Firstly, warmer temperature cause sea level to rise due to the thermal expansion of seawater. Secondly, water from melting glaciers and the ice sheets of Greenland and the Antarctica would also add water to the ocean. It is predicted that the Earth's average sea level will rise by 0.09 to 0.88 m between 1990 and 2100.

Potential Impact on human life

a) Economic Impact

Over half of the human population lives within 100 kilometres of the sea. Most of this population lives in urban areas that serve as seaports. A measurable rise in sea level will have a severe economic impact on low-lying coastal areas and islands, for examples, increasing the beach erosion rates along coastlines, rising sea level displacing fresh groundwater for a substantial distance inland.

b) Agricultural Impact

Experiments have shown that with higher concentrations of CO₂, plants can grow bigger and faster. However, the effect of global warming may affect the atmospheric general circulation and thus altering the global precipitation pattern as well as changing the soil moisture contents over various continents. Since it is unclear how global warming will affect climate on a regional or local scale, the probable effects on the biosphere remains uncertain.

c) Effects on Aquatic systems

The loss of coastal wetlands could certainly reduce fish populations, especially shellfish. Increased salinity in estuaries could reduce the abundance of freshwater species but could increase the presence of marine species. However, the full impact on marine species is not known.

d) Effects on Hydrological Cycle

Global precipitation is likely to increase. However, it is not known how regional rainfall patterns will change. Some regions may have more rainfall, while others may have less. Furthermore, higher temperatures would probably increase evaporation. These changes would probably create new stresses for many water management systems.

P/S :So my beloved friends..what r u waiting for..do your part to save our mother nature..before it is too late..

---