Causes of the Greenhouse Effects From Humans

Since the Industrial Revolution, certain human civilizations have been contributing to the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is caused by carbon dioxide trapping infrared radiation (the sun's energy once inside our atmosphere) in the Earth's atmosphere, gradually raising temperatures on land and water. Normally more than 30 percent of total sunlight available is reflected back into outer space. There are natural causes as well as human ones, and the greenhouse effect is actually beneficial to the Earth. Only since human contributions have sped up the rate at which infrared radiation is trapped have problems occurred. The main problem is the phenomenon known as "global warming."

Deforestation

• Trees and plants use carbon dioxide for respiration during photosynthesis. With massive increases in the human population, intense deforestation has occurred, thus the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased.

Industry

• Human industrial activity is reliant upon the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas. When these substances are burned they produce carbon dioxide. The intense industrialization of human civilizations has therefore led to massive increases of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

CFCs

• Many human inventions emit gases known as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). These gases possess a much higher potential than carbon dioxide to exacerbate the greenhouse effect. Culpable objects include refrigerators, aerosol cans and fire extinguishers.

Methane

• When organic matter decays in oxygen-deprived conditions, methane occurs such as in the digestive systems of herbivores and in rice paddies. Intense expansion of agriculture has increased the number of herbivorous animals and rice paddies, thus increasing the amount of methane in the atmosphere.

Artificial Nitrogen

• Used as a fertilizer, artificial nitrogen is being used on farmland in massive quantities. This leads to the release of a new, human-made greenhouse gas called nitrogen oxide back into the atmosphere. Worryingly, nitrogen oxide has a higher potential to exacerbate the greenhouse effect than both carbon dioxide and methane.