Bryan Benedict's List: Environmental Science Research Paper 2

• • Great Visual example of the Greenhouse Effect! 
• • Good use for what we do to put into the air that causes the greenhouse effect
    

• "natural"
• "man-made"

• The 'blanket' here is a collection of atmospheric   gases called 'greenhouse gases' based on the idea that the gases also 'trap'   heat like the glass walls of a greenhouse do.
• These gases, mainly water vapor (   ), carbon dioxide (), methane   (), and nitrous oxide (),   all act as effective global insulators.
• The narrow band of visible light, between   400 and 700 nm, represents 43% of the total radi

  ant energy emitted. Wavelengths   shorter than the visible account for 7 to 8% of the total, but are extremely   important because of their high energy per photon. The shorter the wavelength   of light, the more energy it contains. Thus, ultraviolet light is very energetic   (capable of breaking apart stable biological molecules and cau

  sing sunburn and   skin cancers). The remaining 49 - 50% of the radiant energy is spread over the   wavelengths longer than those of visible light. These lie in the near infrared   range from 700 to 1000 nm; the thermal infrared, between 5 and 20 microns; and   the

  far infrared regions.
• understanding

2 more annotations...

• The greenhouse effect is a process by which thermal radiation from a planetary surface is absorbed by atmospheric greenhouse gases, and is re-radiated in all directions.
• Since part of this re-radiation is back towards the surface and the lower atmosphere, it results in an elevation of the average surface temperature above what it would be in the absence of the gases.
• About 50% of the Sun's energy is absorbed at the Earth's surface and the rest is reflected or absorbed by the atmosphere. The reflection of light back into space—largely by clouds—does not much affect the basic mechanism; this light, effectively, is lost to the system
• • water vapor, 36–70%
   
  • carbon dioxide, 9–26%
   
  • methane, 4–9%
   
  • ozone, 3–7%

2 more annotations...

• Most of the nitrous oxide added to the atmosphere each year due to huamn activities comes from agricultural soils, where nitrogen-rich fertiliser and manure is convered to nitrous oxide by soil bacteria. Nitrous oxide is also released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels and biomass are burned.

• Today about 57 percent of all electricity is generated by burning  coal. Natural gas provides about 10 percent of the electricity  generated in the country. Renewable resources, such as wind and solar  power, account only for about two percent of energy production.
• "They have eliminated hydro-electric power," Leonard  says. "They have eliminated nuclear power. Coal is next."
• "You can't burn carbon and not get carbon dioxide,"  Leonard stresses.
• With more carbon dioxide in the air, Leonard says plants will  respond positively because of the longer growing season and production  of more of what plants need to grow.
• "We have too many people and we're living too well," he  says. "We can do one of two things. We can make a lot of people  live less well, or we can have fewer people.
• Leonard says that when nature puts carbon dioxide and water vapor  into the air, two of the ingredients for the greenhouse effect, it is  natural and acceptable to environmentalists. When man does it, it's  unnatural.
• "We are somehow upsetting the very delicate balance,"  Leonard says. "What that balance is, nobody on God's green earth  can tell you. How much is too much, nobody has a clue, but it's clear  to the radical environmentalists that mankind has put this cancer on  the planet."
• Politicians are hesitant to deal with auto emissions because that's  a very visible thing that almost immediately affects everyone in the  nation, Leonard says. Placing more regulations on power plants is much  more politically acceptable
• Environmentalists only talk about apocalyptic problems. Their  scenarios are based on computer models, which in turn are based on  what a Swedish scientist said a century ago
• He notes that if inaccurate data is fed into the model, then  inaccurate results will occur. By the same token, if extreme changes  are programmed in, the extreme changes will result.
• What we've found at the Greening Earth Society is if you go in and  look at what's been predicted versus what's been observed, it isn't  even close," Leonard says.
• Most of the warming, Leonard says, is taking place in Siberia and  in Canada during the winter.
• "It's averaging; instead of 34 below zero, it's averaging 32.8  degrees below zero," Leonard contends.
• "Observations tell us that if you put more carbon dioxide into  the air, plants love it," Leonard continues.

12 more annotations...

• Animals inhale Oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide while plant "inhale" carbon dioxide and "exhale" oxygen so the carbon dioxide concentration was right.
• For millenniums people were using Green Houses to get crops not in the season, earlier than usual or in a bigger quantity per acre. Plastic sheets or glass are used as a material transparent to light and opaque to heat (at infrared wavelengths)
• A modern use is for solar hot water heaters. Solar hot water collectors use the effect to heat up water for domestic use. In this application the benefit of greenhouse effect to the household economy is tremendous, It can save 20-30% on the domestic energy bills. By the way, solar electric panels (solar panels) that generate electricity and look very much like the solar thermal collectors has nothing to do with the green house effect. They utilize the photovoltaic effect to convert sun radiation to DC (Direct Current) electricity.

1 more annotation...

•   As scientists measure the “weight” of carbon in the atmosphere over time they see a clear increase in the lighter molecules from fossil fuel and deforestation sources that correspond closely to the known trend in emissions.
• Lower-level atmosphere—which contains the carbon load—is expanding. The boundary between the lower atmosphere (troposphere) and the higher atmosphere (stratosphere) has shifted upward in recent decades.
• ]This boundary has likely changed because heat-trapping gases accumulate in the lower atmosphere and that atmospheric layer expands as it heats up (much like warming the air in a balloon). And because less heat is escaping into the higher atmosphere, it is likely cooling.
• There are many heat-trapping gases (from methane to water vapor), but CO2 puts us at the greatest risk of irreversible changes if it continues to accumulate unabated in the atmosphere. There are two key reasons why
• CO2 has caused most of the warming and its influence is expected to continue. CO2, more than any other climate driver, has contributed the most to climate change between 1750 and 2005
• harmful amounts
• Most are produced by natural processes such as erupting volcanoes, and some are from human industrial and agricultural activities
• Aerosols can modify how much energy clouds reflect and they can change atmospheric circulation patterns—in short, aerosols can modify our climate [2].
• Global warming is caused primarily from putting too much carbon into the atmosphere when coal, gas, and oil are burned to generate electricity or to run our cars. These gases spread around the planet like a blanket, capturing the solar heat that would otherwise be radiated out into space.
• Ozone depletion occurs when chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)—formerly found in aerosol spray cans and refrigerants—are released into the atmosphere. These gases, through several chemical reactions, cause the ozone molecules to break down, reducing ozone's ultraviolet (UV) radiation-absorbing capacity.
• Reducing oil dependence. Strengthening energy security. Creating jobs. Tackling global warming. Addressing air pollution. Improving our health. The United States has many reasons to make the transition to a clean energy economy. What we need is a comprehensive set of smart policies to jump-start this transition without delay and maximize the benefits to our environment and economy. Climate 2030: A National Blueprint for a Clean Energy Economy (“the Blueprint”) answers that need.
• To help avoid the most dangerous consequences of climate change, ranging from extreme heat, droughts, and storms to acidifying oceans and rising sea levels, the United States must play a lead role and begin to cut its heat-trapping emissions today—and aim for at least an 80 percent drop from 2005 levels by 2050. Blueprint policies lower U.S. heat-trapping emissions to meet a cap set at 26 percent below 2005 levels in 2020, and 56 percent below 2005 levels in 2030
• The nation achieves these deep cuts in carbon emissions while saving consumers and businesses $465 billion annually by 2030. The Blueprint also builds $1.7 trillion in net cumulative savings between 2010 and 2030. Blueprint policies stimulate significant consumer, business, and government investment in new technologies and measures by 2030. The resulting savings on energy bills from reductions in electricity and fuel use more than offset the costs of these additional investments. The result is net annual savings for households, vehicle owners, businesses, and industries of $255 billion by 2030.
• Examples of observed climatic changes
  
• Examples of observed physical and ecological changes

13 more annotations...

• 40% of U.S. CO2 emissions come from electricity production, and burning coal accounts for 93% of emissions from the electric utility industry [EPA, pg. 10].
• 33% of emissions in the U.S. [EPA pg. 8] With our population growing at an alarming rate, the demand for more cars a

  nd consumer goods means that we are increasing the use of fossil fuels for transportat

  ion and m

  anufacturing.
• When organic matter is broken down by bacteria under oxygen-starved conditions (anaerobic decomposition) as in rice paddies, methane is produced. The process also takes place in the intestines of herbivorous animals, and with the increase in the amount of concentrated livestock production, the levels of methane released into the atmosphere is increasing
• Forests remove and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and this deforestation releases large amounts of carbon, as well as reducing the amount of carbon capture on the planet.
• Scientists predict an increase in sea levels worldwide due to the melting of two massive ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland, especially on the East coast of the U.S. However, many nations around the world will experience the effects of rising sea levels, which could displace millions of people.
• “Climate change is expected to have the most severe impact on water supplies. “Shortages in future are likely to threaten food production, reduce sanitation, hinder economic development and damage ecosystems. It causes more violent swings between floods and droughts.”" – Guardia

4 more annotations...