Benefits of Recycling.com is presenting this series of pages on global warming becaue we believe there is evidence to support it is real. Even so, we are open to be proven wrong, which is why there are pages on why it is not real. Fair is fair.
The truth is we just want people to be aware that human activities (as well as natural causes) have the possibility of creating adverse effects in the US, Antarctica, Greenland, and throughout the world.
Whether you believe global warming is real or not, we invite you to read what we have uncovered on the many pages of this site… and beyond. Remember, knowledge is power.
Global Warming Ecology / Starting the Day Out Right
Each day the sunrises and we begin our daily grind, we inevitably will be in touch with the ecology that surround us. When we run the water to brush our teeth and take our showers, when we get in our vehicles and drive to work, when we come home and check our email on our computers, when we call our friends on our cell phones, and when we dispose of our trash throughout our day.
Ecology is the study of our earth – it’s relationships with organisms and their environment, and how those relationships affect the planet. There is a lot we can do as a species to help our environment sustain itself. And a great way to begin is to get educated.
Global Warming Ecology / What is Carbon Dioxide?
Carbon Dioxide is a colorless and odorless gas at room temperature and standard atmospheric pressure. It is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms and one carbon atom in a covalent bond with each other. CO2 exists in the Earth’s atmosphere in a gaseous state.
Global Warming Ecology / The Process
CO2 is used by plants in the process called photosynthesis to manufacture sugars which is used by the plant as raw material to manufacture other organic compounds or in its process of respiration. CO2 is produced by plants and by all animals, fungi, and other microorganisms that depend on plants directly or indirectly as food material.
It is also generated as a byproduct when fossil fuels and vegetable matter are burned. Geothermal processes such as volcanoes, hot springs, and geysers all release amounts of CO2. Some of this gas is absorbed by plants and also by the oceans.
Global Warming Ecology / Greenhouse Gases
Carbon Dioxide has been recognized as being the major constituent of greenhouse gases. Before the advent of the industrial revolution the rate of emission of CO2 was more or less equivalent to the natural rate of absorption.
In the time period from 1000 AD to about 1800 AD the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere was measured at 280 ppm or parts per million. These measurements were done by analyzing the gas in the ice bubbles at different depths in the ice sheet at Antarctica. Today atmospheric concentrations have averaged out at 385 ppm.
Global Warming Ecology / The Role of Sunlight
When the Earth receives the energy from sunlight an average of 30 percent of sunlight is reflected back to space by the outer layers of the atmosphere. The rest of the sunlight reaches the surface of the Earth which reflects it back into the atmosphere.
Some gases allow this sunlight to pass through while absorbing and reflecting the infrared and near infrared frequencies. CO2 is particularly efficient at being a greenhouse gas because it transmits visible light while absorbing in the infrared and near-infrared band.
This means that some of the heat which would otherwise be radiated to space remains in the atmosphere similar to the effect that the roof of a greenhouse has on the temperature inside. The larger the quantity of CO2 in the atmosphere the more heat it retains.
Global Warming Ecology / The Future
The effects of global warming on the planetary ecology cannot be ignored. Experts predict the likelihood of increased levels of global warming in the future. This will lead to climate change sea level rise and more frequent extreme weather events.
On a local scale the deleterious effects on ecosystems is apparent with lose of species that are sensitive to even small changes in the environment. Ecosystems have been noticed to be particularly vulnerable to changes in climate. Human systems are somewhat more adaptable but are still vulnerable to the effects of the more extreme aspects of climate change.
Global Warming Ecology / Sources
For more information on ecology and keepin’ it green just use the following links: