What is the greenhouse effect? Gases that cause the greenhouse effect

The greenhouse effect is a global phenomenon and causes many dangers to the environment, health and human life. Let's find out what the greenhouse effect is, its causes and how to fix it in the article below.

What is the greenhouse effect?

The Greenhouse Effect is the effect that causes the Earth's air to warm up. This phenomenon occurs because the Sun's shortwave radiation can penetrate the atmosphere and reach the ground; The ground then absorbs the warming long-wave radiation back into the atmosphere so that CO2 is absorbed, causing the air to warm up.

Or to put it simply, the greenhouse effect is a phrase used to refer to the effect that occurs when the radiant energy of sunlight penetrates through windows or glass roofs, is absorbed and dispersed again. into heat for the inner space. This makes the entire interior space warmer, not just the illuminated areas.

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Greenhouse gases are gases capable of absorbing long-wave (infrared) radiation reflected from the Earth's surface when illuminated by sunlight, then dispersing heat back to the Earth. If a moderate amount of this gas existed, it would help the Earth stay in a state of balance, but currently the amount of this gas increases too much in the atmosphere, causing the greenhouse effect and warming the Earth.

Causes of the greenhouse effect

CO2 gas is the main cause of the greenhouse effect. CO2 in the atmosphere is like a thick sheet of glass covering the Earth, making our planet look like a big greenhouse.

Without the atmosphere, the Earth's surface layer would have an average temperature of -23 degrees Celsius but in reality the average temperature is 15 degrees Celsius. This means that this effect has caused the Earth to warm up. 38 degrees Celsius.

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Today, human activities, exploitation and development along with indiscriminate deforestation activities cause CO2 gas to increase and the greenhouse effect phenomenon also increases. The air temperature on Earth also increases accordingly. According to scientists' estimates, the Earth's temperature will increase about 1.5 - 4.5°C in the next century.

Heavy industrial activities such as cement, steel and aluminum production release CO2, CH4 and other harmful gases into the atmosphere.

Agricultural activities, especially raising livestock, release methane (CH4) and growing rice releases CO2.

In addition, the rapid growth of population and industry also affects the Earth's temperature.

Serious consequences of the greenhouse effect

The most serious consequence that the greenhouse effect causes is climate change. Strictly speaking, the greenhouse effect will impact indirectly through climate change phenomena. Some of its dangerous effects include:

Water source

It affects the quality and quantity of water on earth. Leading to a shortage of drinking water, water for agriculture (for irrigation, aquaculture.), for industry (supply for hydroelectricity.), for the forestry sector (forest fires.).

Creature

The warming of the Earth causes the normal living conditions of living things to change and the living environment to shrink. Many species will not be able to adapt to that change and will gradually disappear.

Ice melting phenomenon

At some point, if the Earth's temperature is high enough to rapidly melt the snow and ice in the Arctic and Antarctic, sea levels will rise too high and could lead to a flood. Rising sea levels will also cause some countries to disappear from the world map in the near future.

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Human

Lots of rain and hot weather create favorable conditions for many infectious bacteria to multiply and develop, leading to many new diseases to appear and epidemics to spread widely. When there is no cure, the human immune system will be weakened and health will be seriously affected.

Food insecurity

Severe weather and extreme weather events cause agricultural productivity to plummet, leading to food shortages, threatening national and world food security.

Some measures to help overcome the greenhouse effect

Plant many green trees

Trees absorb CO2 through photosynthesis, so planting more trees can reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. Since then, the greenhouse effect has also been significantly reduced.

Save electricity

Electricity is produced from the burning of raw materials and fossil fuels. This process will produce a large amount of CO2 and release it into the environment, causing air pollution and increasing the greenhouse effect.

Transport

When vehicles such as motorbikes, cars. operate, they emit CO2 gas, pollute the environment, and increase the greenhouse effect. Therefore, using public transportation, cycling or walking is also one of the ways to protect the environment and the Earth.

Clean energy transition

Replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources such as hydroelectric energy, solar energy, wind energy.

Change agricultural production methods

Apply crop cultivation techniques in the direction of saving water and reducing fertilizers. The livestock industry needs to transform towards reducing emissions, reusing livestock waste, and converting to green energy.

Education propaganda

Promoting communication work on environmental protection will help people clearly understand the greenhouse effect. Once people understand the causes and consequences of the greenhouse effect, they will take actions to protect the environment.

Supplementing knowledge about environmental protection at schools, educational establishments, etc.

The greenhouse effect is a major challenge for all humanity, which to solve requires the joint efforts and drastic actions of all people and countries around the world. Hopefully, in the future we will be able to control and protect the common 'home' of humanity.

Jessica Tanner

Update 24 June 2024