Acome

   

Greenhouse gases and global warming

Essentially, naturally-produced greenhouse gases such as water vapour and carbon dioxide warm the world’s surface by trapping part of the solar radiation that Earth otherwise radiated back into space. This phenomenon was essential to our survival and that of our ecosystem. Over the centuries, however, Man’s activities have helped to drastically increase the levels of these gases in the atmosphere,, causing its temperature to rise alarmingly and so causing worrying climatic changes, etc.
Since the beginning of the industrial era, climatic studies have shown that the Earth’s has changed considerably, with the world’s temperature rising ever faster, increasing snow and ice thaws, etc.

Consequences for our planet

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report published in 2007, if no measures are taken to slow this increase in coming years, the buildup of manmade greenhouse gases could increase the planet’s average temperature by between 1.8 and 4°C. This increase will result in terrible — and irremediable — climatic and terrestrial changes including:

• The sea level rising due to snow and ice thaws;
• More frequent floods and droughts;
• Ocean currents (such as the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic drift) changing, causing regions such as Western Europe to cool down;
• Serious economic changes that initially will directly affect developing countries.

Industrial, domestic and economic issues

Never has there been as much carbon dioxide (CO2), the principal greenhouse effect gas and, therefore, the main cause of climate change, in our atmosphere. Reducing CO2 emissions is therefore essential in combating climate change and protecting the environment.

CO2 emissions are mainly caused by the burning of fossil fuels, agricultural and industrial processes, domestic energy use and deforestation.

These emissions can be reduced at several levels:

• Individuals can combine and adapt their heating and power use to the new environmentally-friendly technologies available and so reduce their energy consumption. New everyday habits can also be adopted: switching off equipment on standby, choosing a vehicle for its energy rating, adapting one’s life cycle to that of nature, etc.
• Industries and business can improve equipment efficiency and use cleaner forms of energy.
• Governments can make it easier for consumers to buy power-consuming equipment that is clean but often more expensive, by providing them with grants or subsidies.