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Globalisation
The world is shrinking. Not physically, of course, but socially, culturally and economically. The nations of the world are coming closer together in terms of cultural contacts and economic transactions. Nowadays goods, capital, people, knowledge, images, communication, crime, culture, pollutants, drugs, fashions and beliefs all readily flow across territorial boundaries.More...
The greenhouse effect
What is the greenhouse effect?
Like the glass panes of a greenhouse, CO2 (Carbon dioxide) molecules are transparent to visible light, allowing the sun's rays to warm the earth's surface. But when the surface gives off its excess heat, it does so not with visible light but with infrared radiation. And since CO2 absorbs infrared rays, some of the excess heat stays in the atmosphere rather than escaping into space.
The greenhouse effect thus, is the warming of the
earth's surface by excess of heat which stays in the atmosphere rather than
escaping into space. The term comes from garden greenhouse whose glass panes
(windows) admit solar radiation, but partially trap the infrared radiation
re-radiated from within. This causes the temperature in the greenhouse to rise
to a higher level than that of the free air outside.
What are the effects of this phenomenon?
World climate is greatly affected by carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Scientists believe that the rise in carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere will lead to a rise in the average global temperature of between 3 to 5 degrees centigrade before twenty years. The main danger facing mankind therefore is to have weather related disasters as a direct result of gases generated by motor vehicles, industry and agriculture.
Such rises in temperature are causing the melting of the ice caps which as a result will make the level of the ocean to rise. The rise in the sea level will for many people living in coastal areas to flee higher up in the lands. Some countries, like the Netherlands, which is found below sea level will be the ones to suffer the most. Some scientists even predicted that some small countries will be completely submerged.
The rise in sea level will not be the only consequence. The global climatic system will be affected. The change in climatic conditions has already been felt in many areas of the world. Cyclones with greater intensity, dry seasons of longer periods and on the other side, too much rainfall resulting in flooding.
What is being done done to fight against this?
To reduce the greenhouse effect, which has become an international problem, the world's representatives met regularly to negotiate about the issue. In 1997 representatives met in Kyoto, Japan and produced and agreement which is known as the Kyoto Protocol. This protocol states that the industrialized countries will have to reduce their their emissions to 5% below 1990 level by 2012. This Kyoto protocol was not a complete success since some countries, like the USA which is the one who emits the most gasses, did not abide to it.
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