ReputationProfessor.Com Articles About Mother Earth

The Greenhouse Effect - What Is It?

ReputationProfessor.Com What Is It By: Kenneth Scott.

There has been much discussion, both among experts and lay people, about the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is a term that refers to changes in the Earths atmospheric composition, which have been related to the warming of our planet. There is a growing amount of evidence that human activities, particularly those relating to the burning of fossil fuels like oil and coal, are major contributors to the greenhouse effect. The predicted consequences for the planet as a result of the greenhouse effect are extremely serious. They include major changes in the climate that will have an impact on food production and rising sea levels, which will put many coastal and other low-lying communities under water.

Additional information that we have learned about the planet Venus provide a frightening example of the greenhouse effect. Venus has a very dense atmosphere made up of gases. The planet has what has been described as a runaway greenhouse effect. It has surface temperature of about 800 degrees Fahrenheit.

Experts generally point to gases like carbon dioxide as the main contributors to the greenhouse effect. Carbon dioxide, which is a gas that is exhaled by everyone, can absorb infrared radiation. This type of radiation is heat that is radiating away from a warm object. During the day, the Earth is warmed by sunlight, and at night, the Earth cools off by radiating the heat back into space in the form of infrared radiation. Carbon dioxide, and other gases to some extent, absorb this radiation and limit its exit into space. Therefore, the natural cooling mechanism is thwarted.

While it may seem that eliminating the greenhouse effect would be the best strategy, this is not what we want to do. Water vapor represents another element in the heat-absorbing process. There is a great amount of water vapor in the atmosphere at all times. This is why we experience rain. We need the water vapor in the atmosphere to keep the Earth at its normal, comfortable temperature.

Thriving Plants Are The Best Greenhouse Effect

Thriving ReputationProfessor-Com Plants By: Mark Sheppler.

What do greenhouses, glasshouses, and hothouses have in common? They all refer to a facility that controls the environment where specific crops are to be planted and harvested. In countries where harsh weather and climate conditions are manifest, greenhouses have revolutionized the green industry. By use of such a facility, one is able to control certain factors such as heat, temperature, and the like; creating or extending a growing season.

The Benefits of Greenhouses

A greenhouse traps heat and saves it for future use. Being able to grow one kind of plant, say out of season flowering shrubs, regardless of the external weather conditions is the main benefit of having a greenhouse. This in turn leads to the practical benefit of making certain crops, fruits, and flowers available all year round regardless of the season and weather.

A greenhouse gives you more control over the conditions that affect your plants’ growth. It gives you the ability to predict with a certain degree of accuracy how much crop you will harvest, unless of course something goes wrong in any of the various aspects and processes involved in its operations.

Because of these benefits, an enterprising individual can actually supply out of season flowers and crops and thus gain more profits because of it. The predictable plant production of greenhouse also gives a businessman a better handle on his business economics.

Construction of the Greenhouse

The materials commonly used for greenhouses include plastic and glass. These are specially modified materials that allow heat storage. Heat can then be allocated for future use so that the greenhouse can be maintained at a specific temperature all-year-round. Moreover, these structures have little or no openings because the warm air might escape and a drop in the temperature may lead to unfavorable results.

Greenhouse Limitations

Greenhouses need to comply with certain engineering specifications; this requires special design/build skills and specialized materials. Moreover, greenhouses need a lot of maintenance. Unlike normal gardening, greenhouse conditions must be strictly controlled and monitored. There are various systems for heating, cooling, circulation irrigation, and pest control. There may be specialized equipment for seeding, transplanting and potting. A greenhouses production numbers depend largely on how well the owner or the greenhouse operator has been able to maintain it at its optimal working condition.

Greenhouse for Hobbyists

Despite the costs and efforts needed to maintain a greenhouse, there are still a number of gardening aficionados who choose to maintain such facilities. While most people put up greenhouses for business purposes, there are hobbyists who maintain greenhouses for the pleasure of starting their own plants from seeds and cuttings, or to grow loved plants that would not survive the local climate outdoors. Greenhouses also make it possible for these gardening hobbyists to attend to their plants anytime they wish to do so.

The Effect of Green House Gases

ReputationProfessor.Com Gases By Eleanor B. Jhonsons.

Earth, the only planet in our solar system or as far as evidence indicates the only planet in the whole Universe that supports life, was not like as we see it now since its beginning. Earth has been able to give a safe home to life because of its unique place in the solar system; it’s neither too close to the Sun nor too far away. As Earth is situated away from the Sun preventing it from being a hell of a warm place, there was the possibility that it may have been freezing cold for life to form and flourish here. But thanks to the greenhouse gases present in Earth’s atmosphere that play their role in keeping it warm enough.

Greenhouse gases are those gases residing in Earth’s atmosphere that absorb and emit radiation and thus, keep Earth warmer. The ‘Greenhouse Effect’ is the natural process through which these atmospheric constituents absorb sunlight. Sun, the only star in our Solar System, emits light that reaches Earth’s atmosphere. The greenhouse gases in the atmosphere absorb the long wave radiation emitted by Sun which warms the atmosphere and these long wave radiations are emitted both upward and downward; the downward emission of radiation by atmosphere is called the ‘Greenhouse Effect’.

The greenhouse gases present in Earth’s atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane and ozone. Water vapor is the most abundant gas and plays the lead role in warming earth causing 36-70% of ‘greenhouse effect’. Carbon dioxide contributes 9-26%, methane 4-9% while ozone’s share is about 3-7%. Some of the other greenhouse gases present in much smaller quantities are sulfur hexafluoride, hydro fluorocarbons, chlorofluorocarbons, per fluorocarbons and nitrous oxide. Two of the major components of Earth’s atmosphere, oxygen and nitrogen are thankfully not greenhouse gases otherwise earth’s atmosphere would have been far warmer than it is now.

Although, these greenhouse gases have been playing a major role in providing life on Earth the perfect temperature to survive, since the Industrial Revolution human activities have caused increase in quantity of green house gases in the atmosphere. More greenhouse gases will trap more and more heat from Sun giving rise to the Global Warming phenomenon. Rising temperatures can be potentially hazardous to all kinds of life forms on Earth and a major cause for rapid melting of glaciers which in turn will cause sea level to rise submerging many coastlines worldwide. Although, environmentalists are forcing the issue and many Governments are taking steps in the right direction, it is not the greenhouse gases but human intervention in nature that is to be blamed.