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Special Points of Interest:
- What is the greenhouse effect?
- Carbon Dioxides Role
- What are we doing about it?
- What will happen if not stopped?
- Is Recycling a Factor?
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The Good, the Bad, and the Ozone
The importance of the stratospheric ozone layer (o3) in shielding the Earth's surface from the harmful effects of solar ultraviolet radiation has been recognized for several decades. It was not until the early 1970s, however, that scientists began actually to grapple with the fact that even relatively small decreases in the stratospheric ozone concentration can have a serious impact on human health—an increased incidence of skin cancer, particularly among fair-skinned peoples. Also, the most long-lasting and potentially least reversible global problem is the greenhouse effect. The role played by carbon dioxide in this effect is the most significant. The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has risen steadily since the mid-1800s, largely as a result of the combustion of coal, oil, and natural gas on an ever-widening scale. In 1850, the global CO2 level of the atmosphere was roughly 280 parts per million, whereas by the late 1980s it had increased to approximately 350 parts per million. (http:www.waltersforensic.com/articles/environmental/vol7-no2.htm)
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| Should present trends in the emission of greenhouse gases, particularly of CO2, continue beyond another 100 years, climatic changes larger than any ever experienced during recent geologic periods can be expected. This could substantially alter natural and agricultural ecosystems, human and animal health, and the distribution of climatic resources. In addition, any significant greenhouse warming could cause a rapid melting of some polar ice, resulting in a rise in sea level and the consequent flooding of coastal areas. Furthermore, counterbalancing the effect of carbon dioxide is the increase of particulate matter in the air, a result of the output of smoke, dust, and other solids associated with human activity. Such an increase might, in turn, increase the reflectance, of the atmosphere, causing a higher percentage of solar radiation to be reflected back into space. This, in time, could cause a lowering of the Earth's surface temperature and, potentially, a new ice age. At present, however, the greater danger appears to lie in the steady increase in carbon dioxide, with its associated atmospheric warming. |
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Do we have the right to commit future generations to further perturbations without actively attempting to prevent or at least anticipate them?
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In spite of these long-term possibilities, the greenhouse problem has received the least policy-oriented attention of any of the three major issues at hand. There are various reasons for this: (1) the problem is fraught with technical uncertainties. (2) It has perceived “winners” and “losers”—economic and otherwise. (3) No one nation acting alone can do much to counteract the CO2 buildup in the atmosphere. (4) Dealing with the problem substantively could be expensive and even alter life-styles. (5) There is no way of proving the validity of the greenhouse theory to everyone's satisfaction except by “performing the experiment” on the real climatic system, which would necessarily involve all living things on Earth. (6) The principal greenhouse gas, CO2, is an inherent by-product of the utilization of a commodity that is most fundamental to the economic viability of the world—fossil-fuel energy. (This fact more than any other explains why the greenhouse problem is so difficult to solve.) All the more reason that we need to recycle to salvage what remains of our precious atmosphere. |
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Is the Misplacement of Recyclable Materials Important?
 Recycling is beneficial in various ways: two of which are prominent is that it reduces the inputs (energy & raw materials) to a production system and reduces the amount of waste produced for disposal. The most commonly used methods for waste disposal (landfill, proloysis, incineration) are environmentally damaging and unsustainable. Therefore anyway to reduce the volume of waste being disposed in this fashion are beneficial. The maximum environmental benefit is gained by waste minimization (reducing the amount of waste produced), and reusing items in their current form such as refilling bottles. This is why it is of great importance that we try to refine our current recycling habits by placing recyclable materials in their correct locations otherwise our ozone layer may not be able to last much longer.
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What's Next?
 What has been happening to the Earth's climate during the past 100 years? If one takes all of the reliable records of temperature readings and averages them for the world, one finds that the Earth has warmed up about 0.5° C over the past century. At the same time, it has been determined that the CO 2 level is about 25 percent higher today than it was a century ago. Therefore, what has happened on Earth is broadly consistent with what the climatic models suggest should have been happening. The warming of the planet over the past century is yet another piece of circumstantial evidence, not conclusive proof in and of itself, but still important, that we are slowly destroying the planet that we fight most fight hard to protect. So consider this, the next time you put a can in that blue plastic bag at home, you are playing a large part in the goal of a cleaner, less polluted Earth and Atmosphere for our children to live in.
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