The Green House Effect
Production of Carbon dioxide and its release to the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels has increased all over the world in an uncontrolled manner.
CO2 (Carbon dioxide) mainly behaves like the glass cover of the Green House of Cold Countries, which allows short-wave radiation to enter and be absorbed by the objects in side. The objects in turn, reradiate the heat but at longer wavelengths, to which glass is nearly opaque. The heat, therefore is trapped in the green house to protect the plants from severe cold. It helps to raise the temperature of the lower
level atmospheric air by absorbing the solar energy radiated from the earth surface. This is called green house effect and this causes global warming effecting in climate change.
NewScientist.com reports (December 22, 2003) on a study that suggests soot particles may be worse than carbon dioxide in contributing to global warming. Maximum soot particles originate from industries. During the industrial revolution the problem was acute. While on the positive side there is less soot these days and perhaps easier to control, if attended seriously. However, drastic reduction of the growth rate of carbon dioxide is still needed to stabilize the atmospheric conditions.
Global warming results in the spread of complicated human diseases. It may have significant effect on the distribution, development and propagation of insect's pests and their interactions with agricultural crops. CO2 in higher concentration increases photosynthesis of plants, which in turn augments the growth of the plants. The leaves expand to large canopy.
OZONE DEPLETION
CFC (Chloro fluoro Carbons) used extensively as refrigerant released into the atmosphere, gradually reach stratosphere by the process of diffusion. Here, the molecules of CFC break down in the presence of ultra-violet radiation and free chlorine is released. Atom of Chlorine attaches itself to ozone molecule, which becomes unstable and breaks into two parts. But ClO bond itself is not very strong. It gets broken the instant another Oxygen atom comes closer to form O2 and releasing Cl atom to do further damage to Ozone. In this way a single atom of chlorine can destroy lakhs of Ozone molecules.
The rate at which the Ozone layer gets depleted is faster than the rate at which Ozone is restored in nature. Thus the thickness of Ozone layer gets reduced. Scientists have observed a hole in the Ozone layer over the Polar region, the very layer that protects us from harsh Ultra-violet rays of the Sun. Penetration of Ultra-violet rays affects not only all forms of plant and animal life but also causes cataract and Skin Cancer in human beings.
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Human activity is such a pervasive influence on the planet's ecological framework that it is no longer possible to separate people and nature.
This reminds us the startling observation made 70 years ago by a Soviet geochemist, Vladimir I. Vernadsky, to said: “Through technology and sheer numbers people were becoming a geological force, shaping the planet's future just as rivers and earthquakes had shaped its past. Eventually, global society, guided by science, would soften the human environmental impact, and earth would become a noosphere, a planet of the mind, life's domain ruled by reason.”
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