Greenhouse Gases?

Research the components of greenhouse gases and write a paragraph outlining the following?

• Answer:

  The principal greenhouse gases in earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, and ozone. Some minor components such as methane and CFCs may also have large effects despite their low concentrations, because they block a part of the outgoing radiative spectrum that was left open for heat to escape despite the relatively large amounts of water vapor, carbon dioxide, and ozone. The source of water vapor is obvious: the ocean. The wet atmosphere is necessary to terrestrial life and is nothing to worry about, but it blocks some wavelengths of outgoing radiation, making the atmosphere more sensitive to the heat blockages brought about by other gases. The sources of carbon dioxide include respiration, but the feared sources are the industrial sources. In particular, the burning of fossil fuels, which beneficially gives us access to the energy that was stored by the sun millions of years ago, unfortunately causes a fairly rapid rise of the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere. Stratospheric ozone occurs naturally through interaction of oxygen with sunlight, but tropospheric (low-altitude) ozone results from man's activities, notably diesel combustion and photocopying. CFC's have been used in refrigeration and in aerosol propellants, but fear about the destruction of the natural ozone layer led to restrictions that have reduced their use. Methane sources include rice cultivation, waste management, and some animal manures. The potential impact of increased greenhouse gases is global warming, and secondarily, acidifying the oceans as CO2 increases. The term "greenhouse" gas specifically refers to their potential for warming the earth. The gases act something like a sweater in summer -- they hold in heat which should be escaping. If water vapor - the "good" greenhouse gas - leaves some "holes" in the spectrum where heat can escape, carbon dioxide and ozone tend to cover up those holes, and methane and CFCs tend to cover up the little holes that are left when the Big Three (water, CO2, ozone) have covered much of the spectrum. There are only two ways, ultimately, to reduce greenhouse gases. One is, that the human population of the earth be drastically reduced. The other is, that mankind revert to a pre-industrial living standard. Politicians like to propose the fiction that some kind of tax scheme is going to solve the problem of greenhouse gases, but there is no way that the many conflicting self-interests of the many human nations and factions are going to unanimously and voluntarily reduce their standard of living. Solar and wind power can slow the destruction, but man will respond by increasing the already excessive population, and of course the whole world wants an "American" living standard.