The phenomenon of the greenhouse effect. Greenhouse effect

Is there really nothing that can regulate the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere? Of course it can. Oxygen does this job perfectly. But the problem is that the planet’s population is growing inexorably, which means that more and more oxygen is being consumed. Our only salvation is vegetation, especially forests. They absorb excess carbon dioxide and release much more oxygen than humans consume.

Greenhouse effect and Earth's climate

When we talk about the consequences of the greenhouse effect, we understand its impact on the Earth's climate. First of all, this is global warming. Many people equate the concepts of “greenhouse effect” and “global warming”, but they are not equal, but interrelated: the first is the cause of the second.

Global warming is directly related to the oceans. Here is an example of two cause-and-effect relationships.

1. The average temperature of the planet is rising, liquid begins to evaporate. This also applies to the World Ocean: some scientists are afraid that in a couple of hundred years it will begin to “dry up.”
2. Moreover, due to high temperatures, glaciers and sea ​​ice will begin to actively melt in the near future. This will lead to an inevitable rise in sea levels.

We are already observing regular floods in coastal areas, but if the level of the World Ocean rises significantly, all nearby land areas will be flooded and crops will perish.

Impact on people's lives

Do not forget that an increase in the average temperature of the Earth will affect our lives. The consequences can be very serious. Many areas of our planet, already prone to drought, will become absolutely unviable, people will begin to migrate en masse to other regions. This will inevitably lead to socio-economic problems and the outbreak of the third and fourth world wars. Lack of food, destruction of crops - this is what awaits us in the next century.

But does it have to wait? Or is it still possible to change something? Can humanity reduce the harm from the greenhouse effect?

Actions that can save the Earth

Today, all the harmful factors that lead to the accumulation of greenhouse gases are known, and we know what needs to be done to stop it. Don't think that one person won't change anything. Of course, only all of humanity can achieve the effect, but who knows - maybe a hundred more people are reading a similar article at this moment?

Forest conservation

Stopping deforestation. Plants are our salvation! In addition, it is necessary not only to preserve existing forests, but also to actively plant new ones.

Every person should understand this problem.

Photosynthesis is so powerful that it can provide us with huge amounts of oxygen. It will be enough for the normal life of people and the elimination of harmful gases from the atmosphere.

Use of electric vehicles

Refusal to use fuel-powered vehicles. Every car emits a huge amount of greenhouse gases per year, so why not make healthier choices environment? Scientists are already offering us electric cars - environmentally friendly cars that do not use fuel. The minus of a “fuel” car is another step towards eliminating greenhouse gases. All over the world they are trying to speed up this transition, but so far the modern developments of such machines are far from perfect. Even in Japan, where such cars are used the most, they are not ready to completely switch to their use.

Alternative to hydrocarbon fuels

Invention alternative energy. Humanity doesn't stand still, so why are we stuck using coal, oil and gas? Burning these natural components leads to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, so it's time to switch to an environmentally friendly form of energy.

We cannot completely abandon everything that emits harmful gases. But we can help increase oxygen in the atmosphere. Not only a real man Every person must plant a tree!

What is the most important thing in solving any problem? Don't close your eyes to her. We may not notice the harm from the greenhouse effect, but future generations will definitely notice it. We can stop burning coal and oil, preserve the natural vegetation of the planet, abandon a conventional car in favor of an environmentally friendly one - and all for what? So that our Earth will exist after us.

The greenhouse effect is the delay of the planet's thermal radiation by the Earth's atmosphere. Any of us has observed the greenhouse effect: in greenhouses or greenhouses the temperature is always higher than outside. The same is observed on the scale Globe: solar energy passing through the atmosphere heats the surface of the Earth, but the thermal energy emitted by the Earth cannot escape back into space, since the Earth's atmosphere retains it, acting like polyethylene in a greenhouse: it transmits short light waves from the Sun to the Earth and retains long thermal ones ( or infrared) waves emitted by the Earth's surface. A greenhouse effect occurs.The greenhouse effect occurs due to the presence of gases in the Earth's atmosphere that have the ability to trap long waves.They are called “greenhouse” or “greenhouse” gases.

Greenhouse gases were present in the atmosphere in small quantities (about 0,1%) since its formation. This amount was enough to maintain the Earth's thermal balance at a level suitable for life due to the greenhouse effect. This is the so-called natural greenhouse effect; if it weren’t for it, the average temperature of the Earth’s surface would be 30°C lower, i.e. not +14° C, as it is now, but -17° C.

The natural greenhouse effect poses no threat to either the Earth or humanity, since total quantity greenhouse gases were maintained at the same level due to the cycle of nature, moreover, we owe our lives to it, provided that the balance is not upset.

But an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere leads to an increase in the greenhouse effect and disruption of the Earth's thermal balance. This is exactly what happened in the last two centuries of civilization. Coal-fired power plants, car exhaust, factory chimneys and other man-made sources of pollution emit about 22 billion tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere each year.

The role of the greenhouse effect

The Earth's climate is greatly influenced by the state of the atmosphere, in particular, the amount of water vapor and carbon dioxide present in it. An increase in water vapor concentration causes an increase in cloudiness and, consequently, a decrease in the amount of solar heat reaching the surface. And a change in the concentration of carbon dioxide CO 2 in the atmosphere is the reason for the weakening or strengthening greenhouse effect, in which carbon dioxide partially absorbs the heat emitted by the Earth in the infrared range of the spectrum, followed by its re-emission towards the earth's surface. As a result, the temperature of the surface and lower layers of the atmosphere increases. Thus, the phenomenon of the greenhouse effect significantly influences the moderation of the Earth's climate. In its absence, the average temperature of the planet would be 30-40°C lower than it actually is, and would not be +15°C, but -15°C, or even -25°C. At such average temperatures, the oceans would very quickly become covered with ice, turning into huge freezers, and life on the planet would become impossible. The amount of carbon dioxide is influenced by many factors, the main ones being volcanic activity and the life activity of terrestrial organisms.

But the greatest impact on the state of the atmosphere, and, consequently, on the Earth’s climate on a planetary scale, is exerted by external, astronomical factors, such as changes in solar radiation fluxes due to the variability of solar activity and changes in the parameters of the Earth’s orbit. The astronomical theory of climate fluctuations was created back in the 20s of the twentieth century. It has been established that a change in the eccentricity of the Earth's orbit from a possible minimum of 0.0163 to a possible maximum of 0.066 can lead to a difference in the number solar energy falling on the Earth's surface at aphelion and perihelion by 25% per year. Depending on whether the Earth passes its perihelion in summer or winter (for the northern hemisphere), such a change in the flux of solar radiation can lead to general warming or cooling on the planet.

The theory made it possible to calculate the time of ice ages in the past. Up to the error in determining geological dates, the century of a dozen previous icing events coincided with the readings of the theory. It also allows us to answer the question of when the next closest icing should occur: today we live in an interglacial era, and it does not threaten us for the next 5000-10000 years.

What is the greenhouse effect?

The concept of the greenhouse effect was formed in 1863. Tyndall.

An everyday example of the greenhouse effect is heating from the inside of a car when it is parked in the sun with the windows closed. The reason for this is that sunlight comes through the windows and is absorbed by the seats and other objects in the cabin. In this case, light energy turns into heat, objects heat up and release heat in the form of infrared, or thermal, radiation. Unlike light, it does not penetrate through the glass to the outside, that is, it is captured inside the car. Due to this, the temperature rises. The same thing happens in greenhouses, which is where the name of this effect comes from, the greenhouse effect (or greenhouse effect). Globally, carbon dioxide in the air plays the same role as glass. Light energy penetrates the atmosphere, is absorbed by the surface of the earth, and is converted into thermal energy, and is released in the form of infrared radiation. However, carbon dioxide and some other gases, unlike other natural elements of the atmosphere, absorb it. At the same time, it heats up and in turn heats the atmosphere as a whole. This means that the more carbon dioxide it contains, the more infrared rays will be absorbed and the warmer it will become.

The temperature and climate to which we are accustomed are ensured by a concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of 0.03%. Now we are increasing this concentration, and a warming trend is emerging.
When concerned scientists warned humanity a few decades ago about the increasing greenhouse effect and the threat of global warming, they were initially looked upon as comical old men from an old comedy. But soon it became no laughing matter at all. Global warming is happening, and very quickly. The climate is changing before our eyes: unprecedented heat in Europe and North America causes not only massive heart attacks, but also catastrophic floods.

In the early 60s in Tomsk, frost of 45° was common. In the 70s, a drop in the thermometer below 30° below zero already caused confusion in the minds of Siberians. The last decade scares us with such cold weather less and less often. But strong hurricanes have become the norm here, destroying roofs of houses, breaking trees, and cutting power lines. Just 25 years ago in the Tomsk region, such phenomena were very rare! To convince someone that global warming has become a fact, it is no longer enough to look at press reports, domestic and international. Severe droughts, monstrous floods, hurricane winds, unprecedented storms - now we have all become involuntary witnesses of these phenomena. IN recent years There is unprecedented heat in Ukraine, there are tropical downpours that lead to devastating floods.

Human activity at the beginning of the 21st century leads to a rapid increase in the concentration of pollutants in the atmosphere, which poses the threat of destruction of the ozone layer and sudden climate change, in particular global warming. To reduce the threat of a global environmental crisis, it is necessary to significantly reduce the emission of harmful gases into the atmosphere everywhere. Responsibility for reducing such emissions must be shared among all members of the world community, which differ significantly in many respects: level of industrial development, income, social structure and political orientation. Because of these differences, the question inevitably arises as to what extent a national government should control air emissions. The debatability of this problem is further enhanced by the fact that to date no agreement has been reached on the impact of the increasing greenhouse effect on the environment. However, there is a growing understanding that, given the threat of global warming with all the ensuing devastating consequences, limiting harmful emissions into the atmosphere becomes a task of paramount importance.

The coastal areas of the Azov and Black Seas are facing a real threat of extinction. The catastrophic floods that we are already dealing with will also occur much more frequently. For example, the Dnieper dams, in particular the Kiev dam, were built taking into account the most devastating floods ever to occur on the Dnieper.

The rapid increase in industrial and other air polluting emissions has led to a dramatic increase in the greenhouse effect and the concentration of gases that destroy the ozone layer. For example, since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the concentration of carbon dioxide CO 2 in the atmosphere has increased by 26%, with more than half of the increase occurring since the early 1960s. Concentration of various chloride gases, primarily ozone depleting ones chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), in just 16 years (from 1975 to 1990) increased by 114%. The concentration level of another gas involved in creating the greenhouse effect, methane CH 4 , has increased by 143% since the start of the Industrial Revolution, with about 30% of this growth occurring since the early 1970s. Until urgent action is taken at the international level, rapid population growth and increasing incomes will be accompanied by accelerating concentrations of these chemicals.

From the moment when careful documentation of data on weather conditions, the 1980s were the warmest decade. Seven of the hottest years on record were 1980, 1981, 1983, 1987, 1988, 1989 and 1990, with 1990 being the hottest on record. However, until now, scientists cannot say for sure whether such climate warming is a trend under the influence of the greenhouse effect or whether it is just natural fluctuations. After all, the climate has experienced similar changes and fluctuations before. Over the course of the last million years, eight so-called ice ages occurred, when a giant ice carpet reached the latitudes of Kyiv in Europe, and New York in America. The last ice age ended about 18 thousand years ago, and at that time the average temperature was 5° lower than now. Accordingly, the level of the world ocean was 120 m lower than it is today.

During the last ice age the CO 2 content in the atmosphere dropped to 0.200, whereas for the last two warming periods it was 0.280. That's how it was in early XIX century. Then it gradually began to increase and reached its current value of approximately 0.347. It follows that in the 200 years since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the natural control of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere through a closed cycle between the atmosphere, ocean, vegetation and processes of organic and inorganic decay has been grossly disrupted.

It is still unclear whether these climate warming parameters are truly statically significant. For example, some researchers note that the data characterizing climate warming are significantly lower than the indicators calculated using computer forecasts based on data on the level of emissions in previous years. Scientists know that some types of pollutants may actually slow down warming by reflecting ultraviolet rays into space. So whether climate change is consistent or whether the changes are temporary, masking the long-term effects of increasing greenhouse gases and ozone depletion is debatable. Although there is little evidence at the statistical level that climate warming is a sustainable trend, assessments of the potential catastrophic consequences of a warming climate have prompted widespread calls for preventive measures.

Another important manifestation of global warming is the warming of the world's oceans. In 1989, A. Strong of the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration reported: “Satellite measurements of ocean surface temperatures between 1982 and 1988 indicate that the world's oceans are warming gradually but noticeably by about 0.1°C per year.” year". This is extremely important because, due to their colossal heat capacity, the oceans hardly respond to random climate changes. The detected trend towards warming proves the seriousness of the problem.

The occurrence of the greenhouse effect:

The obvious reason for the greenhouse effect is the use of traditional energy resources by industry and motorists. Less obvious reasons include deforestation, waste processing, and coal mining. Significantly increasing the greenhouse effect are chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), carbon dioxide CO 2, methane CH 4, oxides of sulfur and nitrogen.

However biggest role Carbon dioxide still plays a role in this process, since it has a relatively long life cycle in the atmosphere and in all countries its volumes are constantly increasing. Sources of CO 2 can be divided into two main categories: industrial production and others, constituting respectively 77% and 23% of the total volume of its emissions into the atmosphere. The entire group of developing countries (approximately 3/4 of the world population) accounts for less than 1/3 of the total industrial CO 2 emissions. If we exclude this group of countries, China, this figure will drop to approximately 1/5. Since in richer countries the level of income, and therefore consumption, is higher, the volume of harmful emissions into the atmosphere per capita is much higher. For example, per capita emissions in the United States are more than 2 times the European average, 19 times the African average and 25 times the corresponding figure for India. However, recently in developed countries (in particular, in the USA), there has been a tendency to gradually curtail production that is harmful to the environment and the population and transfer it to less developed countries. Thus, the US government is concerned about maintaining a favorable environmental situation in its country, while maintaining its economic well-being.

Although the share of third world countries in industrial CO 2 emissions is relatively small, they account for almost the entire volume of its other emissions into the atmosphere. The main reason for this is the use of forest burning techniques to bring new lands into agricultural use. The indicator of the volume of emissions into the atmosphere for this article is calculated as follows: it is assumed that the entire volume of CO 2 contained in plants enters the atmosphere when burned. It is estimated that deforestation by fire accounts for 25% of all emissions into the atmosphere. Perhaps even more important is the fact that in the process of deforestation, the source of atmospheric oxygen is destroyed. Tropical rainforests provide an important mechanism for ecosystem self-healing as trees absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen through photosynthesis. Destruction of tropical forests reduces the environment's ability to absorb carbon dioxide. Thus, it is precisely the characteristics of the land cultivation process in developing countries that determine such a significant contribution of the latter to the increase in the greenhouse effect.

In the natural biosphere, the content of carbon dioxide in the air was maintained at the same level, since its intake was equal to its removal. This process was driven by the carbon cycle, during which the amount of carbon dioxide extracted from the atmosphere by photosynthetic plants is compensated for by respiration and combustion. Currently, people are actively upsetting this balance by clearing forests and using fossil fuels. Burning every pound of it (coal, petroleum products and natural gas) results in the formation of approximately three pounds, or 2 m 3, of carbon dioxide (the weight triples because each carbon atom of the fuel attaches two oxygen atoms during combustion and conversion to carbon dioxide). Chemical formula carbon combustion looks like this:

C + O 2 → CO 2

Every year, about 2 billion tons of fossil fuels are burned, which means that almost 5.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere. Another approximately 1.7 billion tons of it comes there due to the clearing and burning of tropical forests and the oxidation of soil organic matter (humus). In this regard, people are trying to reduce emissions of harmful gases into the atmosphere as much as possible and are trying to find new ways to fulfill their traditional needs. An interesting example This could be achieved through the development of new, environmentally friendly air conditioners. Air conditioners play a significant role in the occurrence of the “greenhouse effect”. Their use leads to an increase in vehicle emissions. To this must be added the slight but inevitable loss of coolant, which evaporates under high pressure, for example through seals at the hose connection. This coolant has the same climate impact as other greenhouse gases. Therefore, researchers began searching for an environmentally friendly refrigerant. Hydrocarbons with good cooling properties cannot be used due to their high flammability. Therefore, scientists chose carbon dioxide. CO 2 is a natural component of air. The CO 2 required for air conditioning appears as a by-product of many industrial processes. In addition, natural CO 2 does not require the creation of an entire infrastructure for maintenance and processing. CO 2 is inexpensive and can be found throughout the world.

Carbon dioxide has been used as a cooling agent in fishing since the last century. In the 30s, CO 2 was replaced by synthetic and environmentally harmful substances. They made it possible to use simpler technology under high pressure. Scientists are developing components for a completely new cooling system using CO 2 . This system includes a compressor, gas cooler, expander, evaporator, manifold and internal heat exchanger. Required for CO 2 high blood pressure taking into account more advanced materials than before, it does not pose a great danger. Despite their increased pressure resistance, the new components are comparable in size and weight to conventional units. Tests of a new car air conditioner show that using carbon dioxide as a coolant can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a third.

A constant increase in the amount of burned organic fuel (coal, oil, gas, peat, etc.) leads to an increase in the concentration of CO 2 in the atmospheric air (at the beginning of the twentieth century - 0.029%, today - 0.034%). Forecasts show that by the middle XXI century, the CO 2 content will double, which will lead to a sharp increase in the greenhouse effect, and the temperature on the planet will rise. Two more dangerous problems will arise: the rapid melting of glaciers in the Arctic and Antarctic, the “permafrost” of the tundra and the rise in the level of the World Ocean. Such changes will be accompanied by climate change, which is even difficult to foresee. Consequently, the problem is not simply the greenhouse effect, but its artificial growth generated by human activity, a change in the optimal content of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Human industrial activity leads to a noticeable increase in them and the appearance of a threatening imbalance. If humanity fails to take effective measures to limit greenhouse gas emissions and preserve forests, the temperature, according to the UN, will increase by another 3° in 30 years. One solution to the problem is environmentally friendly energy sources that would not add carbon dioxide and large amounts of heat to the atmosphere. For example, small solar power plants that consume solar heat instead of fuel are already being successfully used.

Currently, the problem of the greenhouse effect is one of the most global environmental issues facing humanity. The essence of this phenomenon is that solar heat remains at the surface of our planet in the form of greenhouse gases.

The greenhouse effect is due to the transparency of the atmosphere for the main part of the solar radiation (in the optical range) and the absorption by the atmosphere of the main (infrared) part of the thermal radiation of the planet's surface, heated by the Sun. In the Earth's atmosphere, radiation is absorbed by molecules of H2O, CO2, O3, etc. The greenhouse effect increases the average temperature of the planet and softens the differences between day and night temperatures. As a result anthropogenic impacts The content of CO2 (and other gases that absorb in the infrared range) in the Earth's atmosphere is gradually increasing. It is possible that an increase in the greenhouse effect as a result of this process could lead to global changes in the Earth's climate.

In the last century and a half, the content of some “greenhouse” gases in the atmosphere has increased very much: carbon dioxide - by more than a third, methane - by 2.5 times. New, previously simply non-existent substances with a “greenhouse” absorption spectrum have also appeared - primarily chlorine and fluorine hydrocarbons, including the notorious freons. The reason for the rapid increase in the amount of “greenhouse” gases also does not need to be looked for for long - this is our entire civilization, which from the fires of primitive hunters to modern gas stoves and cars is based on the rapid oxidation of carbon compounds, the final product of which is CO2. Human activity is also associated with an increase in the content of methane (rice fields, livestock, leaks from wells and gas pipelines) and nitrogen oxides, not to mention organic chlorine.

Significantly exacerbating the problem are some other (besides CO2) gases emitted by humans into the atmosphere, especially methane, chlorofluorocarbons and nitrogen oxides, which absorb infrared radiation 50-100 times stronger than carbon dioxide. Therefore, although their content in the air is much lower, they affect temperature regime planets are almost the same as him.

The main cause of the greenhouse effect is the release of industrial gases into the atmosphere.
The greenhouse effect is created by carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, methane, and chlorofluorocarbons.
All these gases are the result of human activity. Fuel combustion, automobile emissions, forest fires, work industrial enterprises and widespread industrialization are the causes of climate warming.
The obvious reasons for the occurrence of the “greenhouse effect” include deforestation, since they are almost the only ones that absorb carbon dioxide.

Many people have probably noticed that winters have recently become not as cold and frosty as in the old days. And often on New Year, and on Christmas (both Catholic and Orthodox), instead of the usual snow, it drizzles. The culprit may well be a climatic phenomenon such as the greenhouse effect in the Earth's atmosphere, which is an increase in the surface temperature of our planet due to heating of the lower layers of the atmosphere through the accumulation of greenhouse gases. As a consequence of all this, gradual global warming occurs. This problem is not so new, but recently, with the development of technology, many new sources have appeared that feed the global greenhouse effect.

Causes of the greenhouse effect

The greenhouse effect occurs for the following reasons:

• The use of hot minerals such as coal, oil, natural gas in industry, when burned, enters the atmosphere large number carbon dioxide and other harmful chemicals.
• Transport - a large number of both cars and trucks emitting exhaust gases also contribute to the greenhouse effect. True, the emergence of electric vehicles and the gradual transition to them may have an impact positive influence for the environment.
• Deforestation, because it is known that trees absorb carbon dioxide, and with each destroyed tree, the amount of this same carbon dioxide only grows (including right now our wooded Carpathians are no longer so wooded, no matter how sad).
• Forest fires are the same mechanism as during deforestation.
• Agrochemicals and some fertilizers also cause the greenhouse effect, since as a result of the evaporation of these fertilizers, nitrogen, which is one of the greenhouse gases, enters the atmosphere.
• The decomposition and combustion of garbage also contributes to the release of greenhouse gases, which increase the greenhouse effect.
• The increase in population on planet Earth is also an indirect reason associated with other reasons - more people, which means there will be more garbage from them, industry will work harder to satisfy all our not small needs, and so on.

The influence of the greenhouse effect on climate

Perhaps the main harm of the greenhouse effect is irreversible climate change, and as a result the negative impact from it: evaporation of seas in some parts of the Earth (for example, the disappearance of the Aral Sea) and, conversely, flooding in others.

What can cause flooding, and how is the greenhouse effect related? The fact is that due to rising temperatures in the atmosphere, glaciers in Antarctica and the Arctic are melting, thereby increasing the level of the world's oceans. All this leads to its gradual advance onto land, and the possible disappearance in the future of a number of islands in Oceania.

Territories that are little moistened by precipitation, due to the greenhouse effect, become very dry and practically uninhabitable. The loss of crops gives rise to hunger and a food crisis; we are now seeing this problem in a number of African countries, where drought is causing a real humanitarian catastrophe.

The impact of the greenhouse effect on human health

Besides negative influence on the climate, the greenhouse effect can have an impact on our health. So in the summer, due to this, abnormal heat occurs more and more often, which from year to year increases the number of people with diseases of the cardiovascular system. Again, due to the heat, people’s blood pressure increases or, on the contrary, decreases, heart attacks and epilepsy attacks, fainting and heat strokes occur more often, and all these are the results of the greenhouse effect.

Benefits of the greenhouse effect

Is there any benefit from the greenhouse effect? A number of scientists believe that such a phenomenon as the greenhouse effect has always existed since the birth of the Earth, and its benefits as “ additional heating“of the planet is undeniable, because as a result of one of these heatings, life itself once arose. But again, here we can recall the wise phrase of Paracelsus that the difference between medicine and poison is only in its quantity. That is, in other words, the greenhouse effect is useful only in small quantities, when the gases leading to the greenhouse effect, their concentration in the atmosphere is not high. When it becomes significant, this climatic phenomenon turns from a kind of medicine into a real dangerous poison.

How to minimize the negative consequences of the greenhouse effect

To overcome a problem, you need to eliminate its causes. In the case of the greenhouse effect, the sources that cause global warming must also be eliminated. In our opinion, first of all, it is necessary to stop deforestation, and, on the contrary, to more actively plant new trees, shrubs, and create gardens.

Refusal from gasoline cars, a gradual transition to electric cars or even bicycles (both good for health and for the environment) is also a small step in the fight against the greenhouse effect. And if many conscious people take this step, then this will be significant progress for improving the ecology of planet Earth - our common home.

Scientists are also developing a new alternative fuel that will be environmentally friendly, but when it will appear and become ubiquitous is still unknown.

And finally, you can quote the wise Indian leader White Cloud from the Ayoko tribe: “Only after the last tree is cut down, only after the last fish is caught and the last river is poisoned, only then will you understand that money cannot be eaten.”

Greenhouse effect, video

And finally thematic documentary about the greenhouse effect.

The greenhouse effect is an increase in the temperature of the earth's surface due to the heating of the lower layers of the atmosphere by the accumulation of greenhouse gases. As a result, the air temperature is higher than it should be, and this leads to irreversible consequences such as climate change and global warming. Several centuries ago this environmental problem existed, but was not so obvious. With the development of technology, the number of sources that provide the greenhouse effect in the atmosphere increases every year.

Causes of the greenhouse effect

the use of combustible minerals in industry - coal, oil, natural gas, the combustion of which releases huge amounts of carbon dioxide and other harmful compounds into the atmosphere;

transport – cars and trucks emit exhaust gases, which also pollute the air and increase the greenhouse effect;

deforestation, which absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen, and with the destruction of every tree on the planet, the amount of CO2 in the air increases;

forest fires are another source of destruction of plants on the planet;

An increase in population affects an increase in demand food, clothing, housing, and to ensure this, industrial production is growing, which increasingly pollutes the air with greenhouse gases;

agrochemicals and fertilizers contain varying amounts of compounds, the evaporation of which releases nitrogen, one of the greenhouse gases;

The decomposition and combustion of waste in landfills contributes to the increase in greenhouse gases.

The influence of the greenhouse effect on climate

Considering the results of the greenhouse effect, we can determine that the main one is climate change. As the air temperature increases every year, the waters of the seas and oceans evaporate more intensely. Some scientists predict that in 200 years the phenomenon of “drying” of the oceans will become noticeable, namely a significant decrease in water levels. This is one side of the problem. The other is that rising temperatures lead to the melting of glaciers, which contributes to rising water levels in the World Ocean and leads to the flooding of the coasts of continents and islands. The increase in the number of floods and flooding of coastal areas indicates that the level of ocean waters is increasing every year.

An increase in air temperature leads to the fact that areas that are little moistened by precipitation become arid and unsuitable for life. Crops are dying here, which leads to a food crisis for the population of the area. Also, there is no food for the animals, since plants die out due to lack of water.

First of all, we need to stop deforestation and plant new trees and shrubs, as they absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. By using electric vehicles, the amount of exhaust gases will be reduced. In addition, you can switch from cars to bicycles, which is more convenient, cheaper and better for the environment. Alternative fuels are also being developed, which, unfortunately, are slowly being introduced into our daily lives.

19. Ozone layer: meaning, composition, possible causes of its destruction, protective measures taken.

Earth's ozone layer- this is the region of the Earth's atmosphere in which ozone is formed - a gas that protects our planet from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation.

Destruction and depletion of the Earth's ozone layer.

The ozone layer, despite its enormous importance for all living things, is a very fragile barrier to ultraviolet rays. Its integrity depends on a number of conditions, but nature nevertheless came to a balance in this matter, and for many millions of years the Earth’s ozone layer successfully coped with the mission entrusted to it. The processes of formation and destruction of the ozone layer were strictly balanced until man appeared on the planet and reached the current technical level in his development.

In the 70s twentieth century, it was proven that many substances actively used by humans in economic activities can significantly reduce ozone levels in Earth's atmosphere.

Substances that destroy the Earth's ozone layer include fluorochlorocarbons - freons (gases used in aerosols and refrigerators, consisting of chlorine, fluorine and carbon atoms), combustion products during high-altitude aircraft flights and rocket launches, i.e. substances whose molecules contain chlorine or bromine.

These substances, released into the atmosphere at the surface of the Earth, reach the top within 10-20 years. ozone layer boundaries. There, under the influence of ultraviolet radiation, they decompose, forming chlorine and bromine, which, in turn, interact with stratospheric ozone, significantly reducing its amount.

Causes of destruction and depletion of the Earth's ozone layer.

Let us consider again in more detail the reasons for the destruction of the Earth's ozone layer. At the same time, we will not consider the natural decay of ozone molecules. We will focus on human economic activity.