|
|
|
|
| Global Warming |
|
|
Due to increasing demand for electricity, more and more electricity is generated by using fossil fuels. When fossils fuels are burnt, various gases, commonly known as greenhouse gases, are released into the atmosphere. The greenhouse gases form a layer above earth's surface.
Solar radiation passes through the clear atmosphere. Some solar energy is reflected by the atmosphere and earth's surface and some solar energy is absorbed by the earth's surface and warms it and is converted into heat causing the emission of long wave radiation (infrared) back to the atmosphere. Some of the infrared radiation is absorbed and reemitted by the greenhouse gas molecules. This will further increase the warming of the earth's surface. The direct effect is earth's surface gaining more heat and emitting infrared radiation to the atmosphere. The net effect is the increasing warming of the earth's surface. This phenomenon is known as Global Warming.
Worried about the effects that global warming could have in our lives, the United Nations created the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and this panel initiated a convention by countries accepting the same, called as United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in order to structure an international treaty to tackle the problem.
|
|
|
|
