Greenhouse effect. How to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gases absorb the reflected energy from the sun, making the earth's atmosphere warmer. Most of solar energy reaches the surface of the planet, and some is reflected back into space. Some gases present in the atmosphere absorb reflected energy and redirect it back to Earth as heat. The gases responsible for this are called greenhouse gases because they play the same role as the transparent plastic or glass covering the greenhouse.
Greenhouse gases and human activities
Some greenhouse gases are released naturally as a result of volcanic activity and biological processes. However, since the advent of the Industrial Revolution, turn of XIX century, humans have been releasing increasing amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This increase accelerated with the development of the petrochemical industry.
Greenhouse effect
The heat reflected from greenhouse gases produces a measurable warming of the Earth's surface and oceans. This has a wide-ranging impact on ice, oceans, and.
The main greenhouse gases of the Earth:
water vapor
Water vapor is the most powerful and important of the Earth's greenhouse gases. The amount of water vapor in can not be directly changed by human activity - it is determined by air temperature. The warmer, the higher the rate of evaporation of water from the surface. As a result, increased evaporation leads to a greater concentration of water vapor in the lower atmosphere, which is able to absorb infrared radiation and reflect it downward.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
Carbon dioxide is the most important greenhouse gas. It is released into the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels, volcanic eruptions, decomposition organic matter and movement of vehicles. The cement manufacturing process results in the release of large amounts of carbon dioxide. Plowing the land also releases large amounts of carbon dioxide normally stored in the soil.
Plant life, which absorbs CO2, is an important natural store of carbon dioxide. can also absorb CO2 dissolved in water.
Methane
Methane (CH4) is the second most important greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide. It is stronger than CO2 but is present in the atmosphere in much lower concentrations. CH4 can stay in the atmosphere for a shorter time than CO2 (CH4 has a residence time of about 10 years, compared to hundreds of years for CO2). Natural sources of methane include: wetlands; burning biomass; life processes of a large cattle; rice cultivation; extraction, combustion and refining of oil or natural gas etc. The main natural absorber of methane is the atmosphere itself; to others, soil, where methane is oxidized by bacteria.
As with CO2, human activity is increasing CH4 concentrations faster than methane is taken up naturally.
Tropospheric ozone
Minor greenhouse gases
Secondary greenhouse gases are nitrogen oxides and freons. They are potentially dangerous for . However, due to the fact that their concentrations are not as significant as the above-mentioned gases, the assessment of their impact on climate has not been fully studied.
nitrogen oxides
Nitrogen oxides are found in the atmosphere through natural biological reactions in soil and water. Nonetheless a large number of released nitric oxide makes a significant contribution to global warming. The main source is the production and use of synthetic fertilizers in agricultural activities. Motor vehicles emit nitrogen oxides when running on fossil fuels such as gasoline or diesel.
Freons
Freons are a group of hydrocarbons with various types use and characteristics. CFCs are widely used as refrigerants (in air conditioners and refrigerators), foaming agents, solvents, etc. Their production is already banned in most countries, but they are still present in the atmosphere and damage the ozone layer. Hydrofluorocarbons serve as an alternative to more harmful ozone-depleting substances, and contribute much less to global climate change on the planet.
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In connection with the release of some resolutions, letters and guidelines, users of natural resources are asking questions regarding the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions, but the regulatory authorities do not yet have clear answers. Nevertheless, the issue is being actively discussed. Starting with basic knowledge and historical background about greenhouse gases, we will try to highlight this topic for all interested parties, even those far from ecology.
What are greenhouse gas emissions and why they are dangerous: background
DICTIONARY
Greenhouse gases are gases of high transparency in the visible range and high absorption in the far infrared range. The presence of such gases causes Greenhouse effect- an increase in the temperature of the lower layers of the planet's atmosphere.
For the Earth, water vapor and carbon dioxide are of primary importance. An increase in the amount of carbon dioxide due to industrial emissions into the atmosphere leads to an increase in near-surface temperatures, which, according to the theory of global warming, leads to a violation of natural climatic processes.
In connection with this danger, it is necessary to reduce GHG emissions, and therefore in 1997 an agreement was concluded in Kyoto - the Kyoto Protocol, created as additional document to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change 1992
In 2015, a new agreement was signed in Paris to regulate measures to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from 2020.
The new agreement was signed by Russia, but not ratified: in the summer of 2016, the business community asked the president not to approve this document, because. it will be bad for the economy. In addition, S. Lavrov, in his speech at the Global Development Summit at the UN General Assembly, said that Russia has exceeded its obligations to achieve GHG emissions below the 1990 level.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Russia: work plan
However, we did not stop there. In our country, a number of steps have been taken to reduce GHG emissions and reduce the risk of global warming in the world. First developed the legislative framework on this issue.
Climate impact of greenhouse gases
The group of greenhouse gases includes all types of gaseous compounds that affect the permeability of the atmosphere for sunlight and thermal energy. The presence of these gases in atmospheric air is the reason that part of the thermal energy radiated by the Earth's surface does not go into space, but remains in the surface air layers. The higher the content of greenhouse gases in the atmospheric air, the more intensively the surface of the planet overheats.
Remark 1
During geological history The ground their content is constantly changing. At the same time, there were changes in climatic indicators, as well as in a number of other parameters of the atmosphere, for example, its density, gas composition, transparency, etc., which largely determine the features of the vital activity of organisms. It is believed that since the Carboniferous period Paleozoic era(i.e., about 370 million years ago), the content of gases contributing to the greenhouse effect has stabilized at a level that allows maintaining the temperature equilibrium of the planet.
The group of greenhouse gases includes:
- water vapor,
- carbon dioxide,
- methane,
- freons,
- as well as nitrogen oxides and ozone.
Natural sources of greenhouse gases
Prior to the industrial era, the main sources of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere were: the evaporation of water from the surface of the oceans, volcanic activity and Forest fires. Currently, volcanoes emit about 0.15–0.26 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere per year. The specificity of volcanic activity lies in the extremely uneven flow of carbon monoxide into the atmosphere.
A lot of it is released during large eruptions, which occur relatively rarely - less than one per decade. At the same time, along with greenhouse gases, volcanoes also emit a huge amount of dust, which helps to reduce the amount of solar radiation and some chill. As modern studies show, the effect of the largest eruptions can cause a temperature change on Earth of the order of several tenths of a degree, and last for several years. The amount of water vapor entering the atmosphere during the same period is equivalent to the evaporation of 355,000 cubic kilometers of water.
Anthropogenic sources of greenhouse gases
With the intensification of industry, greenhouse gases began to enter the atmosphere during the combustion of fossil fuels (carbon dioxide), during the development of oil fields (methane), due to the loss of refrigerants and the use of aerosols (freons), rocket launches (nitrogen oxides), the operation of automobile engines ( ozone). In addition, human industrial activity has contributed to the reduction of forest areas - the main natural sinks of carbon dioxide on the continents.
Theoretically, with the complete combustion of fossil fuels (provided that all its deposits are exhausted), approximately the same amount of carbon dioxide will enter the atmosphere, which was removed from it during the course of geological history in the process of photosynthesis and preserved in the form of fossil carbon.
Since the oldest (and thin) deposits of caustobioliths date back to the Devonian period, it can be assumed that the content of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will be slightly less than by the end of this period or by the beginning of the next, Carboniferous period (since the full production of all useful components in modern deposits does not not only economically unprofitable, but also technically extremely difficult). At that time already existed advanced life, including terrestrial, but the climate was significantly different from the modern one. It was much warmer, more humid, the atmosphere was more dense. The content of oxygen in the atmosphere was close to modern, and carbon dioxide content was much higher - about 0.2%, i.e. about 5.6 times higher than now.
Human industrial activity entails harmful effects on the atmosphere. This factor has already become a commonplace and only experts in the environmental sphere pay attention to it. Meanwhile, harmful emissions pose ever more acute questions for organizations involved in global changes climate. In the list of the most pressing problems at conferences devoted to ecology, greenhouse gas regularly appears as one of the most dangerous factors influencing the atmosphere and biota. The fact is that gaseous compounds of this type cannot transmit thermal radiation, which contributes to the heating of the atmosphere. There are several sources of formation of such gases, among which are biological phenomena. And now it is worth familiarizing yourself with the composition of greenhouse mixtures in more detail.
Water vapor as the main greenhouse gas
Gases of this type form about 60% of the total volume of substances due to which it is created. As the temperature of the Earth rises, evaporation and the total concentration in the atmosphere also increase. At the same time, the previous level of humidity is maintained, which contributes to the greenhouse effect. The natural essence possessed by the greenhouse gas in the form of vapor undoubtedly has positive aspects in the matter of natural regulation of the atmospheric composition. But there are also negative consequences of this process. The fact is that against the background of increasing humidity, there is also an increase in the cloud mass, which reflects the direct rays of the sun. As a result, there is already an anti-greenhouse effect, in which the intensity of thermal radiation and, accordingly, the heating of the atmosphere decreases.
Carbon dioxide
Among the main sources of emissions of this type are volcanic eruptions, human activities and processes occurring in the biosphere. Anthropogenic sources include the combustion of fuel materials and biomass, industrial processes and other factors leading to the formation of carbon dioxide. This is the same greenhouse gas that is actively involved in the processes of biocenosis. It is also the most durable in terms of staying in the atmosphere. According to some reports, further accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmospheric layers is limited by the risk of consequences not only for the balance in the biosphere, but also for the existence of human civilization as a whole. It is these ideas that are the main motivation for developing measures to counteract the greenhouse effect.
Methane
Remains in the atmosphere for about 10 years. Previously, it was believed that the effect of methane on the stimulation of the greenhouse effect is 25 times greater than carbon dioxide. But recent scientific studies have given even more pessimistic results - it turned out that the potential for exposure to this gas was underestimated. However, the situation is mitigated by a short period during which the atmosphere retains methane. This type of greenhouse gas comes from anthropogenic activities. It can be rice growing, digestive fermentation, mixing forest areas etc. According to some studies, an intensive increase in methane concentration took place in the first millennium of our era. Such phenomena were associated precisely with the expansion of cattle breeding and agricultural production, as well as with the burning of forests. In subsequent centuries, the level of methane concentration decreased, although today the opposite trend is observed.
Ozone
The composition of greenhouse gaseous mixtures contains not only components that are dangerous from the point of view, but also beneficial parts. These include ozone, which protects the Earth from ultraviolet light. However, not everything is clear-cut here either. Scientists divide this gas into two categories - tropospheric and stratospheric. As for the former, it can be dangerous due to its toxicity. At the same time, the increased content of tropospheric elements contributes to the growth of the greenhouse effect. At the same time, the stratospheric layer acts as the main protection against the effects harmful radiation. In regions where this type of greenhouse gas has an increased concentration, strong effects on vegetation are observed, which manifest themselves in the inhibition of photosynthetic potential.
Countering the greenhouse effect
There are several areas in which work is underway on methods to contain this process. Among the main measures, the use of tools for regulating the interaction between storages and sinks of greenhouse gases stands out. In particular, environmental agreements at the local level contribute to the active development of forestry. It is also worth noting the reforestation measures, which will minimize the greenhouse effect in the future. Gas emitted into the atmosphere from industries is also amenable to reduction in many industries. For this, measures are being introduced to limit emissions in transport, in production areas, at power plants, etc. For this purpose, alternative methods of fuel processing and gas removal systems are being developed. For example, in recent times a recovery system is being actively introduced, thanks to which enterprises optimize the processes of removing their waste.
Conclusion
In the processes of formation of the greenhouse effect, human activity does not play the most big role. This can be seen from the proportion of gas volumes that are produced by anthropogenic sources. However, it is these harmful emissions that are the most dangerous for the atmosphere. Therefore, environmental organizations consider greenhouse gas as a factor in negative climate change. As a result, means are used to curb the spread and accumulation of harmful substances that increase the risk of global warming. Moreover, the fight against harmful emissions is carried out in various directions. This applies not only to factories and enterprises, but also to products intended for individual use.
Data scientific research provide information that without reducing the mass of greenhouse gases in earth's atmosphere mankind cannot avoid the deterioration of the climate on the planet.
Where did they come from?
Greenhouse gases, being in the atmospheres of planets, contribute to the occurrence of some dangerous effect. It is named accordingly - greenhouse. On the one hand, without this phenomenon, our planet would never be able to warm up enough for life to arise on it. On the other hand, everything is good in moderation and up to a certain point. Therefore, we will talk about the problems of civilization associated with the phenomenon of greenhouse gases, which, having played its positive role, has changed its quality over time and has become a topic for discussion, research and general concern.
Many millions of years ago, the Sun, heating the Earth, gradually turned it into a source of energy. Part of its heat went into outer space. In addition, it was reflected by gases in the atmosphere and warmed the layers of air close to the earth. Such a process, similar to the preservation of heat under a transparent film in greenhouses, scientists gave the name. And the gases that provoke it, they also called simply. Their name is "greenhouse gases".
At the dawn of the establishment of the Earth's climate, the active activity of volcanoes contributed to the emergence of this effect. Emissions in the form of water vapor and carbon dioxide were trapped in the atmosphere in large quantities. The result was a hyper-greenhouse effect that heated the World Ocean almost to the boiling point. And only with the advent of the green biosphere, absorbing atmospheric carbon dioxide, temperature regime the planet gradually returned to normal.
However, general industrialization, constant growth production capacity changed not only chemical composition greenhouse gases, but also the essence of this phenomenon.
They are well known
A greenhouse gas is a compound that lingers in the Earth's atmosphere and becomes an obstacle to its thermal radiation on its way to space. The heat given off by the planet comes back again. As a result, indicators average temperature steadily growing, which can lead to unpredictable consequences.
Excessive heating of the planet occurs due to the difference in the transparency of the layers of the atmosphere. The sun's rays pass through them easily. The atmosphere is transparent to ultraviolet light. Thermal infrared radiation it is difficult to break through its lower layers, where greenhouse gases collect. The thing is, they create a seal.
The Kyoto Protocol contains a clear list of greenhouse gases whose presence in the Earth's atmosphere should be combated. These include:
- water vapor;
- carbon dioxide;
- methane;
- nitrous oxide;
- freons;
- ozone;
- perfluorocarbons;
- sulfur hexafluoride.
Dangerous Potential
Water vapor is classified as a natural gas, but its contribution to the formation of the greenhouse effect is quite large. He cannot be underestimated.
Carbon dioxide is considered as one of the main factors affecting the planet's climate. Its share in the atmosphere is about 64%, and its role in global warming is exactly that great. The main sources of its release into the atmosphere are as follows:
- volcanic eruptions;
- metabolic process of the biosphere;
- combustion of biomass and fossil fuels;
- deforestation;
- production processes.
Methane does not decompose in the atmosphere for 10 years and is a serious threat to the Earth's climate. Its greenhouse effect is 28 times greater than the capabilities of carbon dioxide, and in the next 20 years, if its emission is not stopped, this superiority will reach 84. Its main sources are anthropogenic in nature. It:
- agricultural production, in particular rice cultivation;
- cattle breeding (increase in livestock and, as a result, sewage);
- forest burning.
Partially greenhouse methane comes from leakage during field development hard coal. It is also emitted during the extraction of natural gas.
Freons are a particular danger to the environment. They are mainly used in aerosols and refrigeration units.
Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas that occupies one of the leading places in terms of quantity in the atmosphere and impact on global warming. Sources of its origin and application:
- production of mineral fertilizers in the chemical industry;
- the food industry uses it as a propellant;
- in the branches of mechanical engineering and rocketry, it is used in engines.
Ozone, or rather that part of it, which is classified as a harmful gas that creates a greenhouse effect, is located in the lower layers of the troposphere. Increasing near the ground, its amount can harm green spaces, damaging their leaves and reducing the ability to photosynthesize. It is mainly formed as a result of the reaction of the interaction of carbon oxides, nitrogen oxides with water vapor, sunlight and volatile organic compounds in the presence of oxygen. The main sources of these substances in the atmosphere are greenhouse gas emissions from industrial facilities, vehicles and chemical solvents.
Perfluorocarbons are the result of the production of aluminum, solvents and electronics. They are used in dielectrics, heat carriers, coolants, lubricating oils, and even as artificial blood. They can only be obtained by chemical synthesis. Like most fluorinated gases, they are hazardous to environment. Their greenhouse potential is estimated hundreds of times higher than that of carbon dioxide.
Sulfur hexafluoride is also one of those greenhouse gases listed in the Kyoto Protocol as potentially hazardous. It is used in the field of fire extinguishing, in the electronics and metallurgical industries as a process medium, its role as a refrigerant is known, etc. Its emissions remain in the atmosphere for a long time and actively accumulate infrared radiation.
Ways to solve the problem
The world community is making a lot of effort to develop a unified program of action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
One of the serious components of environmental policy is the approval of standards for emissions of fuel products of combustion and the reduction of fuel use due to the transition of the automotive industry to the production of electric vehicles.
Work nuclear power plants, which do not use coal and oil products, indirectly already allows to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at times.
Transnational gas and oil processing companies coordinate their activities with international environmental organizations and governments to combat methane emissions. They have already been joined by many large oil and gas producing states, such as Nigeria, Mexico, Norway, the USA, and Russia.
Significant reduction or ban on deforestation can also have a significant impact on environmental health. As trees grow, they absorb huge amounts of carbon dioxide. During cutting, they release it. The reduction in the percentage of arable land in tropical countries has already made a significant contribution to optimizing global greenhouse gas emissions.
part of the world environmental program are the new European limits on the technological characteristics of boilers and water heaters. All developments of such household appliances must henceforth comply with the requirements for the control of carbon dioxide emissions during their use. With the introduction of new technologies, this greenhouse gas is expected to reduce its presence in the atmosphere by 136 million tons over six years.
Renewable energy - a challenge to greenhouse gases
Recently, there has been a fashionable trend to invest in the development of renewable energy industries. The percentage of its use on the scale of world consumption is slowly but steadily growing. It is called "green energy" because it originates in natural regular processes that occur in nature.
Resources such as water, wind, sunlight, tides, man has now learned to apply for technical needs. The percentage of world energy consumption from renewable sources by 2014 has already pulled up to 20. Every year, 30% more wind energy is used worldwide. The production of photovoltaic panels is increasing. In Spain and Germany, the popularity of solar power plants is growing.
Running car engines emit greenhouse gas into huge quantities. The proof of this fact became an incentive to search for "green" types of gasoline. Recent studies have shown that bioethanol can be considered as an alternative to petroleum based motor fuels. As part of an environmental program, Brazil has been producing ethanol from sugar cane for several years. It is produced in large quantities from US cereal, rice and corn pulp. Biofuels are already beginning to partially replace gasoline in many countries around the world.
Everyone's contribution
Greenhouse gases and their destructive work cannot be seen or felt. For now, it's still hard for us to imagine. However, this problem may affect the next generation. Thinking not only about themselves, people can take part in solving this problem today. If each of us plants a tree, puts out a fire in the forest in time, moves to a car “fuelled” with electricity at the first opportunity, he will certainly leave his mark in the future.
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