Important Reputation Professor Differences By: James Nash

Many people in the media (and elsewhere) use the terms “climate change” and “global warming” interchangeably, as if they were the same thing. But there are differences between the meanings of the two terms.

Getting a better handle on the definitions of and differences between “global warming” and “climate change” will help us understand why the threat caused by continued warming of the planet is so serious.
Planet Earth’s current warming trend is based largely on natural warming and cooling cycles that have been happening for eons; as well as human-caused additions to greenhouse gases, which are boosting the atmosphere’s ability to trap heat in the biosphere. Minor factors like an overall increase in the sun’s solar intensity play a smaller role.

While greenhouse gases are an essential component of a livable planet - they’re what keep Earth from being a lifeless ball of ice - humans are causing greenhouse gas levels to increase so quickly that it’s causing the average global temperature to rise much faster than it would naturally. This warming is predicted to lead to a variety of negative effects, including:

1) Melting (and possible disappearance) of glaciers and mountain snow caps that feed the world’s rivers and supply a large portion of the fresh water used for drinking and irrigation.

2) A rise in sea levels due to the melting of the land-based ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, with many islands and coastal areas ending up more exposed to storm damage or even underwater.

3) Increasingly costly “bad weather” events such as heat waves, droughts, floods, and severe storms.

4) Lowered agricultural productivity due to less favorable weather conditions, less available irrigation water, increased heat stress to plants, and an increase in pest activity due to warmer temperatures.

5) Increases in vector-borne infectious diseases like malaria and Lyme Disease.

6) Large numbers of extinctions of higher-level species due to their inability to adapt to rapidly changing climate and habitat conditions.

The first two of these effects are mostly related to increasing average temperatures. Items 3-6 are related to heat too, but also playing a role are non-temperature factors - i.e. “climate-change factors.”

Climate change is about much more than how warm or cool our temperatures are. Whereas “global warming” refers to increasing global temperatures, “climate change” refers to regional conditions. Climate is defined by a number of factors, including:

1) Average regional temperature as well as day/night temperature patterns and seasonal temperature patterns.

2) Humidity.

3) Precipitation (average amounts and seasonal patterns).

4) Average amount of sunshine and level of cloudiness.

5) Air pressure and winds.

6) Storm events (type, average number per year, and seasonal patterns).

To a great extent, this is what we think of as “weather.” Indeed, weather patterns are predicted to change in response to global warming:

1) Some areas will become drier, some will become wetter.

2) Many areas will experience an increase in severe weather events like killer heat waves, hurricanes, flood-level rains, and hail storms.

It’s tempting to think that all of these changes to the world’s climate regions will average out over time and geography and things will be fine. In fact, colder climates like Canada may even see improved agricultural yields as their seasonal temperatures rise. But overall, humanity has made a huge investment in “things as they are now, where they are now.”

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.

Principles of Reputation Professor effect By: Henry White

The emission of infrared radiation by the atmosphere results in the warming up of the surface of a planet. This process is called the greenhouse effect. In other words, certain gases in the atmosphere trap the solar energy so that the earth experiences a considerable rise in temperature. These gases include carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide etc. and they are known as green house gases. The absence of these gases will make the heat escape back into the space which will make life on earth impossible. Green houses make use of this mechanism.

Greenhouses are used to grow plants, especially in the winter. Most green houses resemble a small glass house. Here, it is the glass panel that plays the role of the greenhouse gases. The glass panels of a greenhouse allows the entrance of solar energy in the form of heat and light, but won’t let it escape. This raises the temperature inside the glass house and provides suitable atmosphere for the growth of the plants inside.

In the case of atmosphere, our earth receives energy from the sun. Once absorbed, this energy is sent back to the atmosphere. While doing so, a major portion of the energy gets absorbed by the greenhouse gases and warms up our planet. Green house effect, if enhanced considerably too can deny existence as it would heat up the earth than usual.

Importance of Reputation Professor Methane By Steve Evans.

The greenhouse effect, also called the “greenhouse phenomenon” or “global warming”, has recently been receiving a great deal of scientific and popular attention. The term refers to a cause-and-effect relationship in which “heat blanketing” of the earth, due to trace gas increases in the atmosphere, is expected to result in global warming.

By global warming we mean an increase in the average temperature of the planet. Actually global warming is rather a confusing term because global warming does not mean that everywhere will be hotter all of the time, it just means that on average the globe will be warmer.

Now we just mentioned that “heat blanketing” is taking place, and that this is due to trace gases in our atmosphere. There are a number of so called ‘trace’ gases, which simply means gases that are present in the atmosphere at low levels, such that there is only a trace present (a small amount in proportion to the other gases). So it is these trace gases that are producing an effect which is like wrapping the world in a blanket. Just like any blanket, it has a net effect which holds the heat in.

These trace gases are increasing as the result of human activities. Scientists know this. It is easily measured historically by analyzing things like pack ice which was deposited in layers which layers can be readily dated and go back hundreds of thousands of years.

Carbon dioxide (chemically shown as CO2, which is simply a chemist’s shorthand way of telling us that it is a molecule made up from two Oxygen (O) molecules to each Carbon (C) molecule), is a trace gas.

The principal gases in approximate order of importance, are carbon dioxide, methane, the chlorofluorocarbons (considered collectively) and nitrous oxide.

Carbon dioxide is the trace gas scientists believe is contributing most to the “heat blanketing” and currently receives the most attention.

However, Carbon Dioxide is not the only trace gas which is implicated in climate change and methane is another which some have estimated to be over a third as much as that of carbon dioxide.

Gas from natural sources, cows and other ruminants, and natural sources where natural decomposition by fermentation produces methane, all contribute to the blanketing which is the cause of the greenhouse effect.

However, human activity is also responsible for a lot of methane gas production and Municipal Solid Waste Landfills have in turn been recognized to be a source of methane which is contributing to the atmospheric buildup.

However, the magnitude of the landfill methane contribution and the overall significance of landfill methane to the greenhouse effect have been uncertain, and the subject of some debate. But, as time goes on the evidence becomes stronger, and the fact of climate change is now accepted by the vast majority of scientists working in this field.

So, it appears that methane (using US waste generation data and remembering that the methane from United States landfills is a very large quantity) makes an important net contribution to the greenhouse phenomenon.

Landfill produces a lot of landfill gas which is largely methane. Measures to reduce landfill methane emissions are thought to be among the most economical steps which could be taken to address a component of this problem.

Reputation Professor Green-House Effect By George Christodoulou.

The green-house effect is the most important cause behind global warming. In fact global warming is known as the greenhouse effect. This phenomenon leads to an increase in the Earth temperature due to certain gases like CO2, nitrous oxide, and methane. These gases trap the energy from the sun and without them the heat would go back into space and Earth would be one massive iceberg. Since these gases warm the Earth, they are known as greenhouse gases.

In the last couple of decades, people have started using glass houses to grow plants in winter and these are called greenhouses. Typically, these houses will trap the heat from the sun. The glasses in the greenhouse let the light through and at the same time prevent the heat from escaping.

As a result, the greenhouse heats up to keep the plants alive in the winter. Similarly, the greenhouse gases in the Earths atmosphere work like the glass and prevent the heat from escaping. The sunlight enters piercing through the cloud of greenhouse gases and when it reaches the Earths surface, it is absorbed by land, water, and air.

After absorption the same energy is sent back into the atmosphere. Some of it remains trapped in the atmosphere due to the greenhouse gases and this energy makes the Earth warmer. Since there has been an increase in CO2 emissions in the last couple of decades, more and more heat is being absorbed in the atmosphere.

Reputation Professor author oneclickdoctor.

If the greenhouse effect has again been currently in the news, it is probably because it is once again being blamed for causing global warming. Stronger hurricanes, periods of extreme weather, heat waves, the frequency of the El Nino phenomenon, these are all attributed to global warming. But how does the greenhouse effect figure in all these?

What is the greenhouse effect?
The greenhouse effect is the ability of our planet’s atmosphere to trap and contain heat. This heat is sourced from the sun and is reflected back towards the atmosphere. Certain gases are responsible for this entrapment and they include carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, fluorinated compounds and water vapor. Other man-made chemicals are also capable of retaining heat within the atmosphere.

In itself, the greenhouse effect is not essentially evil. In fact, it is this very phenomenon that has produced life on earth as we know it. Think of the greenhouse effect as a natural thermal blanketing for our planet, maintaining a surface temperature that is just right to encourage organisms to grow and survive. Without this blanketing, the earth’s climate would be too cold - about 59F lower than the average - for our planet to be able to sustain life successfully.

How does the greenhouse effect contribute to global warming?
For more than 4 billion years, the greenhouse effect has kept our planet’s temperature at a friendly level. Gases found in the atmosphere act to trap heat and keep our planet insulated, able to sustain itself. Problems only began to arise when scientists noticed that certain practices and human activities contribute to the modification of this process.

When the Industrial Revolution began, we also devised many ways of using fossil fuel for oil, coal and gas. The only way to utilize these fuels was by burning. As industrialization continued to expand, so did the practice of fossil fuel burning, thereby releasing gases into the atmosphere. The only problem was that these gases had nowhere else to go and have continued to build up over the years.

By building up, they cause the atmosphere to become more efficient in trapping heat, causing climates to turn warmer. This unnatural or man-made result is referred to as global warming.

How global warming affects us
We have been experiencing the effects of global warming for the past years and most of these are felt through changes in the climate. However, it’s important to note that climate change is brought about by other factors and not just as an indirect result of the greenhouse effect. Some of these factors include changes in the circulation of the oceans, changes in our planet’s orbit and even changes in the intensity of the sun itself.

Global warming involves increase in the average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere near its surface. While global warming is nothing new to our planet (it has occurred over long periods in the earth’s 4.5-billion-year history alternating with ice ages), it is only now when its drastic changes on a global scale has dire consequences not just for human kind but also to the millions of species that depend upon the earth for sustenance.

A famous example of the effect of global warming is the increase in sea level, brought about by the melting of glaciers. This is a problem not readily seen nor felt in countries or regions that lie on higher ground, but for many areas, this could mean land (and subsistence opportunities) lost to sea. A 0.3-meter increase in sea level for example, can eat up about 15 meters of beach.

As temperatures rise, countries that have agricultural practices firmly dependent on the regularity of glacier-melting will suffer greatly. For many regions in the world, the melting of snowpacks from the mountains means water for plant irrigation and electricity. If the melting occurs at a bad time, the planting and harvesting of crops will be significantly disrupted, causing problems in the economy on a local and national level.

With global warming, abrupt weather changes may also be experienced, such as heat waves that last longer and occur with more frequency, stronger storms and hurricanes and even changes in the behavior of the winds. Warmer climate will also contribute to the displacement of plants and animals, as those who depend upon lower temperature regions to survive will need to move to higher elevations and latitudes. For plants and animals who cannot adapt, it could mean extinction.

Healthwise, diseases that right now are currently limited by the location and living habits of their carriers have the possibility of invading areas that didn’t have a problem with them before. An example of this is malaria, along with other diseases caused by mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes thrive in tropical settings and as more and more regions become warmer, mosquitoes will expand their range. They will now be able to go to areas that they usually do not inhabit because of the temperature. This exposes the formerly unexposed population to the health risks caused by mosquito-borne diseases that also include dengue and elephantiasis.

Facing global warming
The balance of life and competition among species may also be disrupted, in more ways than are currently foreseen. In fact, with global warming, certain lifestyles and animal behavior that we have enjoyed so far may also disappear, unless we do something to try to correct and arrest the problem.

Thriving Reputation Professor 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.

Reputation Professor 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.

Reputation Professor Principles of Greenhouse By: Henry White

The emission of infrared radiation by the atmosphere results in the warming up of the surface of a planet. This process is called the greenhouse effect. In other words, certain gases in the atmosphere trap the solar energy so that the earth experiences a considerable rise in temperature. These gases include carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide etc. and they are known as green house gases. The absence of these gases will make the heat escape back into the space which will make life on earth impossible. Green houses make use of this mechanism.

Greenhouses are used to grow plants, especially in the winter. Most green houses resemble a small glass house. Here, it is the glass panel that plays the role of the greenhouse gases. The glass panels of a greenhouse allows the entrance of solar energy in the form of heat and light, but won’t let it escape. This raises the temperature inside the glass house and provides suitable atmosphere for the growth of the plants inside.

In the case of atmosphere, our earth receives energy from the sun. Once absorbed, this energy is sent back to the atmosphere. While doing so, a major portion of the energy gets absorbed by the greenhouse gases and warms up our planet. Green house effect, if enhanced considerably too can deny existence as it would heat up the earth than usual.

Reputation Professor Perks of Global Warming By: Nola L. Kelsey

Marya Mannes once wrote, “The earth we abuse and the living things we kill will, in the end, take their revenge; for in exploiting their presence we are diminishing our future.” Obviously Ms. Mannes preferred the status quo - health, sanity, logic, blah, blah, blah. Why? Green House Roulette is so much more intriguing.

In the country, weather affects everything. For five years western South Dakota has been gripped by drought. Water and hay are vanishing. Farms and ranches are blowing away. While the government bails out victims from hurricanes and says, ‘South Dawho?’ our cattle are pissing dust mites. Fortunately, things are looking up.

There is some good news. Those pesky glaciers are finally melting off! Last year an eight-nation report estimated an area of Arctic icepack the size of Texas and Kansas is gone. For those who are geographically impaired, that is an area bigger than a breadbox.

At first, news of devastating global climate change might seem a bit of a bummer. Then I read an LA Times article and had a change of heart. The article began with the usual gloom. Greenland’s ice cap is melting. Our coasts will flood from rising seawater. Inuit hunters are falling through thinning ice. Melting glaciers are changing ocean temperature and salinity contorting the jet stream, resulting in altered weather patterns worldwide. Multitudes of species are dying off . . . It was disheartening to read.

Then I got to the article’s final paragraph. Bam! My faith was restored. Here the Times pointed out the perks of global warming. Seriously, the article actually ended saying: “The report is not all gloomy. A warmer Arctic could increase the number of some species, such as Arctic char, a fish. It could extend the growing season for wheat in Canada and open up now-treacherous sea routes, such as the Northwest Passage and the Northern Sea Route, which parallels Russia, for shipping and resource exploration.”

Three cheers for the LA Times! It’s true! All is not gloomy. With that glorious bit of sunshine pumped straight up my ski bibs, I was able to see things in a whole new light. I started thinking of other advantages to global warming. Soon you will agree that people from all walks of life will benefit.

For starters, Inuit Hunters will benefit! Once Inuit have nothing left to hunt there will be no need for them to risk falling through thin ice. Plus, by needing food they will be ripe for a floating (pontoons, not ice) Arctic Super Wal-Mart. “Go get ‘em, Sam.”

Boat owners will benefit! Not only will there be smooth sailing through the formerly bothersome ice of the Northwest Passage, but each summer, cruise ships will be able to run tourists straight up Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

Scuba Divers will benefit! There will be no more burning coral cuts. In fact there will be no more coral. Once all the reefs are gone, divers can pack away first aid kits and dive straight in. A little silt never cut anyone.

Canadian Wheat Farmers will benefit! You see, there is a 10% decrease in yield of corn from Midwest crops for every degree of global warming. No worries though, now wheat can take the place of corn. Think about all those scrumptious Wheat Dogs at the ball game. How about popped wheat with butter at the movies or steaming wheat on the cob? All scream ‘yummy’ to me.

While it is a bit ironic that ethanol is made from the corn crops global warming devastates, I am sure some aspiring chemist will rise to the challenge of developing ‘Wheatanol.’ Imagine Canuck Wheat Farmers having more influence than the Saudi Royal Family.

Dune-Buggy enthusiasts will benefit! The Dakotas will soon reopen for your 4-wheelin’ pleasure. Join the Mount Rushmore Nose Climb on July 4th! It will be a bugger of a challenge!

Eco-Tourism Operators will benefit! Companies could offer new “Emaciation Tour Packages.” Tourists get closer photos of polar bears and whales when they are too lethargic from starvation to meander away. In addition, long treks to Inuit villages can be avoided once they are forced to beg on the streets of Nome (or cashiering at Wal-Mart).

Finally, the next generation of Bush family politicians will benefit! Once again they can avoid addressing campaign issues, this time by distracting dehydrated voters with witty campaign phrases like; “No Kyoto Pact-No Ice Pack,” or “Dead Seals Never Flip-Flop,” even promising “No Char Left Behind.” Not to mention offering new SPF 800 tax credits.