Methane, CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), and nitrous oxide form a belt of gases around Earth. This mixture of gases is responsible for a phenomenon called the greenhouse effect. Without this natural greenhouse effect, weather on our planet would be much cooler than it is now.
1- The Sun’s rays hit Earth, causing it to heat up.
2- Earth releases some of its heat into the atmosphere.
3- Greenhouse gases trap the heat and keep it close to Earth’s surface. This is known as the greenhouse effect.
Human activities like farming and the cutting of trees, along with pollution, produce a large amount of greenhouse gases. Meteorologists fear that these gases dramatically add to Earth’s natural greenhouse effect and increase global warming. This imbalance in the world’s climate can cause flooding, hurricanes, and shortages of rain in some areas.
If you were a doctor looking at Earth as a living organism, you would see that her survival is threatened. Human activity is breaking the balance of life. Unless we mend our actions, the system’s ability to support life is being lost.
Loss of Biodiversity
Ecosystems with higher levels of biodiversity are more stable and resilient. Each species is an important part of the ecosystem, specializing in their own functions and contributing to the whole. But planet Earth is currently going through a drastic change! It is estimated by experts that the current species extinction rate is between 1000 and 10,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate.
Unsustainable Agriculture
Most of our agriculture is out of balance, putting a lot of stress on Earth’s life support systems. Modern-day agriculture usually consists of a monoculture, which leads to unstable ecosystems. If a farmer grows only corn, there will be no habitat for predators which consume pests, leading to a need for synthetic pesticides. In a monoculture, there are no species with large root systems to hold the soil together, causing soil erosion. Also, there are no species to cycle nutrients and fix soil nitrogen, leading to usage of chemical fertilizers. All over the world, farm land is turning to dust leaving a large and unpleasant question as to how our future generations will provide for themselves.
Population Growth
Over the last 100 years, the population has gone from less than 2 billion to over 7 billion. Alongside the population rise, the industrial revolution has made us more capable at consuming the Earth’s resources. As population size in developing countries continues to grow by the millions, there is a rise in the already high demand on resources. This growth is damaging Mother Earth’s organs. Her liver is now unable to filter out all our toxic waste which is polluting the water we drink; and also her lungs can no longer handle all the toxic smog coming from our cities, changing the balance of gases in the atmosphere. It is our responsibility to make sure she doesn’t collapse.
Deforestation
During the last century, most the world’s forest cover has been lost. Trees have been providing oxygen, filtering and cleaning the water, purifying the air, preventing soil erosion in farm lands and also providing us with food. All this, for FREE! Deforestation is seriously diminishing Earth’s capacity to provide for us today and for the generations to come.
Overuse of Non-renewable Energy
Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, consumption of fossil fuels has been rising drastically. Sadly, it does not look like this will reduce in the near future. Economic growth has lead to an increase in the demand for fossil fuel based energy. So what’s wrong with all this? Not only does the burning of fossil fuel pollute the air, it also releases carbon dioxide which is a greenhouse gas and has the effect of trapping energy from the sun in the Earth’s atmosphere. This affects global weather patterns causing drastic changes and endangering ours and our planet’s survival.
Although the amounts of CFCs in the atmosphere are very small, measured in parts per trillion (million million), they do contribute significantly to the enhancement of the natural greenhouse effect, because they are very good at trapping heat. Molecule for molecule some CFCs are thousands of times stronger than carbon dioxide as greenhouse gases.
Since the dangers caused by CFCs to the ozone layer were first identified, their use has gradually been phased out, according to international agreements made in Montreal, Canada, in 1987. However, CFCs have long lifetimes in the atmosphere before they are broken down by sunlight, and they will consequently enhance the greenhouse effect well into the 21st century.
Diseases Caused By Acid Rain
| “Acid Rain” is a broad term referring to a mixture of wet and dry deposited material from the atmosphere containing higher than normal amounts of nitric and sulphuric acids. |
The acidic deposition can be caused by natural phenomena like volcanoes and decaying vegetation or man-made sources like fossil fuel combustion. Gases like suphur, nitrogen and carbon emitted during these processes react with water molecules in the atmosphere to produce the acids.
Acid Rain causes acidification of water sources. . . . like lakes and streams. This has an immediate and adverse impact on aquatic life. Many modern companies now use very tall smoke funnels to avoid impacting the local area. But due to this pollutants are carried much further and have been shown to cause widespread ecological damage. High altitude forests are also especially vulnerable as they are often surrounded by acidic cloud and fog. Buildings and monuments are also being impacted by acid rain, with the inscriptions on many monuments becoming completely illegible.
Acid Rain – Its Causes And Effects:
As we all know, acid rain have harmful effects on vegetation, animals and humans. Acid rain is caused by too much pollution that contaminates the rain water. Before, rain is believed to be pure and said to contain minerals that are good for the hair and skin, but now, rain water can already cause diseases. This article will give you information on what is acid rain and what are its effects in the environment.
Too much nitrogen oxide, carbon, and ammonium can mix with water droplets in the atmosphere causing the water’s pH level to go below 7 making it acidic. This is the cause of acid rain. Acidic water can be harmful to all living things on the ground.
One of the things that can suffer the harsh effect of acid rain is the vegetation. Microscopic organisms that are important for biochemical processes that aids in the food production of the plants can die due to acid rain, thus, affecting the food making process of the plants and can cause them to die. Acid rain can also affect the reproduction and growth of plants. It can also take off the waxy covering of plants causing them to be more vulnerable to diseases.
Animals can also fall victims of acid rain. It can make harmful elements like mercury to leak to the ground and be washed down the rivers, lakes and seas. This can affect the marine life. Not only that fishes and other aquatic animals will die but humans can also get affected by eating fish with high harmful element deposits in its stomach.
Human beings can also be affected with acid rain. Contact with the acidic water of the rain can cause skin irritation, blisters and can even burn the skin if there is so much acid in the water. Acid rain can even cause skin cancer according to some doctors. Humans are also affected by acid rain when they were able to consume plants and animals containing harmful chemicals.
Now that you are already aware of thee already aware of the causes of acid rain and the harmful effects it can bring, it is best to help prevent acid rain from happening by doing our role in protecting our mother nature.
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