Green chemistry

Assignment

The Greenhouse Effect

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For millions of years, the greenhouse effect has kept the Earth at a comfortable temperature for living organisms. The temperature has remained constant throughout our Earths history; this is due to the concentration of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. There are now worries that human activities are increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. This could have irreversible effects upon our planet.

Radiation Cycle
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When objects get hot, they emit electromagnetic radiation. The hotter the object, the higher the energy of the radiation. The surface temperature of the sun is around 6,000 K; it mainly emits energy in the visible region, although there is also radiation emitted between the ranges of infrared and ultraviolet radiation. This radiation heats our planet. The Earths average surface temperature is 285 K; the energy emitted from our planet is mainly in the infrared region. Our planet absorbs some of the energy from the sun, and then emits the energy back out. This delicate balance keeps our planet at the right temperature, but as with all delicate balances, it can be disturbed by changes to the system; that is changes to the concentrations of atmospheric gases. Methane is an example of one of these atmospheric gases. Basically it traps some of the suns radiation that would otherwise be radiated into space.

It is the greenhouse effect that keeps our planet warm. As the name suggests, the process is similar to how a greenhouse traps heat.

Relative Greenhouse Factors

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The term greenhouse gas relates to a gas that absorbs infrared radiation, but does not absorb the visible or ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Some greenhouse gases have a greater greenhouse effect than others. The greenhouse factor can be used to compare the greenhouse effect of the different gases. The measure is relative to the same amount of carbon dioxide that is assigned the value of 1.
Carbon dioxide Dinitrogen oxide a strong oxidizing agent that reacts in the air to form corrosive nitric acid, as well as toxic organic nitrates 0.00003 160 Trichlorofluoromethane often dumped in water ways which pollute the water as well as the environment 2.810-8 21 000

Description and source Percentage in troposphere Greenhouse factor Effect

lets the light energy in, but doesn't let all of the heat energy out 0.035 1 Helps to retain infrarays.

The cause of acid rain

The cause of depletion of ozone layer.

Carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas most often mentioned, but the other greenhouse gases have greater effects than carbon dioxide. o This is because it comprises a comparatively large amount of our atmosphere, as well as the fact that it is not cycled through the atmosphere as rapidly as water vapor is. o In addition, carbon dioxide absorbs radiation in the wavelength ranges that other gases do not absorb in. o It traps heat from the radiation that passes through other gases, in other words. o It's especially being considered in this day and age because of our great contribution of it to the atmosphere. o We as humans emit about 27 billion tonnes of CO2 every year (compare that to the 130230 million tonnes emitted by volcanoes annually). o N2O and CCl3F are stronger greenhouse gases than carbon dioxide, but carbon dioxide is being released in far greater quantities into the atmosphere. o We are emitting so much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that it has a greater effect than the very small amounts of N2O and CCl3F that we are putting into the atmosphere.

GLOBALWARMING POTENTIAL

Global-warming potential (GWP) is a relative measure of how much heat a greenhouse gas traps in the atmosphere. It compares the amount of heat trapped by a certain mass of the gas in question to the amount of heat trapped by a similar mass of carbon dioxide.

FACTORS AFFECTING GLOBAL WARMING

o Carbon Dioxide Emitted from Cars. It is actually only a small part of the atmosphere, but one of the most important GHGs (greenhouse gases). CO2 is released naturally into the atmosphere through volcanic eruptions and animal respiration but it is also released through human activities such as deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels for energy. CO2 also spends a long time in the atmosphere increasing its impact. Since the industrial revolution, humans have increased atmospheric CO2 concentration by 30%. o Burning fossil fuels. Combustion of fossil fuels not only gives out carbon dioxide into the air, it also releases various types of gases like carbon monoxide, methane, nitrous oxide, etc. that cause air pollution. When in air, these gases undergo some chemical changes and get converted into harmful acidic substances like sulfuric acid and carbonic acid. Then these substances return to the surface of the earth in the form of acid rain which has a huge impact on the entire environmental conditions. The acid rain causes harm to the soil and plant life and pollutes surface water. o Cutting down the earth's forests without replanting. Clearing of the forest cover has a contrary effect on the environment. It results in an increase in the amount of carbon and other greenhouse gases in the environment. Burning of forests results in the emission of a large amount of carbon dioxide into the air. Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases like the oxides of nitrogen and methane are known to trap atmospheric heat, thus increasing the average temperature of the Earth's surface. This increase in the temperature near the Earth's surface and oceans is termed as global warming. o Releasing other greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases trap the Sun's radiations in the atmosphere, and contribute to global warming. Though the use of household appliances which release chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the atmosphere has come down now, it was at its peak in the 90s and caused irreversible damage to the atmosphere. Other than cattle, methane also exists in plenty beneath the Earth's crust, and the release of methane during mining indirectly contributes to rising temperature on the planet. Other than deforestation, humankind has also contributed to global warming by using fossil fuels which emit carbon dioxide and other such harmful gases. o The world's growing demand for electricity. The growing populations of the earth all want cars, refrigerators, air-conditioning and a double garage. Most electricity is generated by burning coal. o A constant and growing demand for red meat. Cattle belch out methane, a toxic greenhouse gas, much more dangerous than carbon dioxide. More and more forests and bush land, which absorb carbon dioxide from the air, are being cut down so more cattle can graze. o A reduction in the planet's ability to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. The earth has natural sources of carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas), and has had long before mankind began altering the environment, but the earth has natural means to actually remove some greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, especially carbon dioxide which is removed by plants (especially dense, tall forests) through photosynthesis. Global deforestation by mankind means not only have we increased the output of greenhouse
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gases, but we have also significantly reduced the ability of earth to reduce at least one of the greenhouse gases. CLIMATE CHANGE Climate change is a long-term change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods of time that range from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in the average weather conditions or a change in the distribution of weather events with respect to an average, for example, greater or fewer extreme weather events. Climate change may be limited to a specific region, or may occur across the whole Earth. There are 7 indicators that would be expected to increase in a warming world (and they are), and 3 indicators would be expected to decrease (and they are):

But who is causing these indicators to change? Is it us? In recent usage, especially in the context of environmental policy, climate change usually refers to changes in modern climate. It may be qualified as anthropogenic climate change or anthropogenic global warming (AGW).
Science isn't a house of cards, ready to topple if you remove one line of evidence. Instead, it's like a jigsaw puzzle. As the body of evidence builds, we get a clearer picture of what's driving our climate. We now have many lines of evidence all pointing to a single, consistent answer - the main driver of global warming is raising carbon dioxide levels from our fossil fuel burning. - John Cook 5

The core of anthropogenic global warming theory is that because of human activity the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increased significantly, which resulted in the greater amount of heat caught in the atmosphere and sent back to our planets surface. This caused the increase of average temperature worldwide, and the first signs of serious global climate changes are already visible: ice glaciers melting in Greenland and Antarctica, floods and extreme hurricanes, etc. Though global warming is a naturally occurring phenomenon, many scientists say that human or anthropogenic factor played a significant role in acceleration of global warming during the past century after the industrial revolution. Because of extensive use of fossil fuels and vast deforestation, the concentration of greenhouse gases increased significantly during the 20th century, and many scientists claim this to be the major culprit of todays climate changes. When fossil fuels, such as oil, gas or coal, are burned to get energy, tons of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. Besides, because humans have already destroyed many forests, such as Amazon rainforests, which acted as a natural filter to maintain the appropriate amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the concentration of greenhouse gases also went out of control. Thus, according to many scientists, human activity caused a rapid progression of the global warming.

Anthropogenic climate change

Anthropogenic climate change refers to the production of greenhouse gases emitted by human activity. By examining the polar ice cores, scientists are convinced that human activity has increased the proportion of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which has skyrocketed over the past few hundred years. The IPCC, Fourth Report released in 2007 stated that, multiple lines of evidence confirms that the post-industrial rise in greenhouse gases does not stem from natural mechanisms. In other words this is anthropogenic climate change, and the significant increases in the atmosphere of these potent greenhouse gases are a result of human activity. 6

The most potent of the greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N20). Alarmingly, these are a result of anthropogenic climate change, and the gases are at the highest levels for over 650,000 years.

The IPCC Fourth Report confirms that over the past 8,000 years, and just before Industrialization in 1750 , carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere increased by a mere 20 parts per million (ppm). The concentration of atmospheric CO2 in 1750 was 280ppm, and increased to 379 ppm in 2005. That is a whopping increase of 100 ppm in 250 years. For comparison and at the end of the most recent ice age there was approximately an 80ppm rise in CO2 concentration. This rise took over 5,000 years, and higher values than at present have only occurred many millions of years ago.

Anthropogenic climate change is climate change that is due to the activities of human beings (e.g.: burning fossil fuels, deforestation, etc.)

Natural climate change

Natural climate change is due to natural processes occurring on the Earth (such as dissolving of carbon dioxide in sea water and formation of carbonate rocks). While human activity since the Industrial Revolution in the 1700s has propelled recent global warming, there is also natural climate change that occurs as a result of normal atmospheric
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changes. Typically, climate change refers to a sustained change in weather across the globe, though it can be restricted to a region. Natural climate change may be caused by several factors, or climate forgings, including plate tectonics, ocean variations, tilt of the planet, orbital fluctuations, and changes in solar output. While scientists have recorded climate change since the 1800s, previous variations in weather must be gleaned from oral histories, written documents, and archaeological evidence. Scientists often use glaciers as a lens on past natural climate change, dating when a glacier advanced, indicating a cold spell, or retreated, indicating a period of warmth. Ice core samples also shed light on ancient weather through providing information on the amount of carbon dioxide that was in the atmosphere at a given time. Fossils of plants, animals, insects, and pollen may also be used to date climate cycles, as certain species survive under different conditions. This evidence points to a climate cycle marked by ice ages and periods of warmth reaching far back into prehistoric times. One important reason for natural climate change can be attributed to plate tectonics and continental drift. Just under the oceanic and continental crusts, or the part of the Earth that humans can see, lay a rigid layer of the Earth, called the lithosphere. The lithosphere is divided into plates that move over a deeper, hotter, more fluid layer. These plates cause the restructuring of landmass, particularly at the boundaries where plates may grind, causing earthquakes, move away from one another, causing earthquakes and geothermal hotspots, or collide with another, causing earthquakes, mountain ranges, volcanoes, and oceanic trenches. This restructuring moves landmasses from one region of the world to another, changes wind and ocean currents, and produces volcanoes, all factors which can lead to regional or global natural climate change. The eruptions of volcanoes cause a cooling effect on the Earth. As the volcano erupts, it ejects ash and sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. This material creates a blanket in the atmosphere which is distributed across the globe through the motion of wind. The ash and sulfur dioxide blocks sunlight from penetrating the atmosphere and warming the Earth. Without this sunlight, the Earth begins to cool.

Carbon neutrality
Carbon Neutrality, defined- a transparent process of calculating emissions, reducing those emissions and offsetting residual emissions net carbon emissions equal zero, is very much achievable, but there are huge obstacles that need to be overcome if one is to achieve it, as large interests wish to keep us dependent on fossil fuels, and important policy makers worry about productivity. This is the main problem affecting the move to carbon neutrality, as technology, though still improving, is at the level where some cities and countries can be carbon neutral. However, people must be made aware of why it is important to become carbon neural and be motivated to support, sacrifice and advocate for the cause.

In conclusion, reaching a state of carbon neutrality will be difficult, but not impossible. It must largely be a people lead strategy, where public opinion will compel governments to alter and create policy, and businesses to offer more environmentally friendly solutions. Governments listen to the people, and businesses listen to their consumer. By successfully giving both an incentive to develop/support more environmentally friendly approach, then carbon neutrality may be a little more achievable. Our country, Maldives, will be submerged in the depths of the ocean with a metre increase in sea level. Our ex global president Mohamed Nasheed said, Climate change is a global emergency. The world is in danger of going into cardiac arrest, yet we behave as if we've caught a common cold. Today, the Maldives has announced plans to become the world's most eco-friendly country. I can only hope other nations follow suit. Lynas said: "The Maldives is in the front line of climate change. It is perhaps the most vulnerable country in the world. If nothing is done to cut global carbon emissions, the country will sink beneath rising seas this century. It is a poor country, but here we have a government that is throwing down the gauntlet to the rich, highly polluting countries." Often times when you face such an overwhelming challenge as global climate change, it can be somewhat daunting - it's kind of like trying to lose weight, which I know something about. In our everyday experience, if something has never happened before, we are generally safe in assuming it is not going to happen in the future, but the exceptions can kill you and climate change is one of those exceptions. The saddest fact of climate change - and the chief reason we should be concerned about finding a proper response - is that the countries it will hit hardest are already among the poorest and most long-suffering "I don't think the human race will survive the next thousand years, unless we spread into space. There are too many accidents that can befall life on a single planet. But I'm an optimist. We will reach out to the stars."

Carbon footprint
A carbon footprint is defined as: The total amount of greenhouse gases produced to directly and indirectly support human activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). In other words: When you drive a car, the engine burns fuel which creates a certain amount of CO2, depending on its fuel consumption and the driving distance. (CO2 is the chemical symbol for carbon dioxide). When you heat your house with oil, gas or coal, then you also generate CO2. Even if you heat your house with electricity, the generation of the electrical power may also have emitted a certain amount of CO2. When you buy food and goods, the production of the food and goods also emitted some quantities of CO2. Your carbon footprint is the sum of all emissions of CO2 (carbon dioxide), which were induced by your activities in a given time frame. Usually a carbon footprint is calculated for the time period of a year.
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The best way is to calculate the carbon dioxide emissions based on the fuel consumption. In the next step you can add the CO2 emission to your carbon footprint. It is the measure of the negative impacts of human activities to the environment. It refers to the amount of greenhouse gasses produced on a daily basis through burning of fuels for electricity, heating, transportation, among others. The total amount of greenhouse gases produced is most of the time expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). In other words when you are driving a car, the fuel burned by your engine produces a certain amount of carbon. Below is a sample of how you can contribute to your personal carbon footprint. Each of the activities adds up to 1 kg of CO2: Travel by bus or a train on a public transportation of a distance between 10 to 20 km Travel by plane for a distance of 6 km Operating a computer for 32 hours Production of 2 plastic bottles

Understanding carbon footprint is the best tool to estimate how our personal activities and appliances contribute to the current amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The good thing about carbon footprint is that you can calculate how much carbon you have contributed in a day. Calculators are available online. By knowing how much you can add up to the current environmental problems is not just plain awareness. You can do something to lessen your impact on nature. You can educate yourself about what you can do to improve your lifestyle. Here is a list of simple ways to reduce your carbon footprint:

Recycle water. You can use it to water your plants. Do your weekly shopping in a single trip. Turn off the lights and electronic devices not in use. Walk or ride a bicycle for short journeys Buy fruits in season and purchase locally made products

Carbon offsetting is a prerogative of the rich

Companies and individuals may plan to reduce the effect of their carbon footprint by carbon offsetting. Examples are:
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planting trees

o Paying to build a small dam in a river to produce hydroelectricity for a village so people there don't have to use diesel generators that produce carbon dioxide. By this means they reduce their carbon footprint. "A prerogative of the rich" means that rich people can afford to do this. Poor people can't.
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a poor man has an old polluting truck that he uses to earn his living, he can't offset his carbon dioxide emissions with money. Does carbon offsetting provide a solution to global warming? On its own, carbon offsetting does not provide an answer to global warming, but it does have a large part to play in the overall approach to carbon management. Internal reductions take time to kick in (the change of the profile of a car fleet, for example), and even targets of 20% reductions are stretching to growing businesses. Carbon offsetting brings the possibility of 100% reductions achieved cost-effectively and immediately. At the same time, the emission reduction projects supported by the money paid for offsetting helps communities globally to get on to a low carbon path.

4/ What are the schemes that "offset" the carbon dioxide I produce?

Method

What Happens

How does it work?

Notes / Criticisms

Tree planting - reforestation

Trees are planted on your behalf somewhere in the world. The idea is that the trees act as a "carbon sink", so locking away carbon dioxide as they grow. You may be able to choose in which country the trees are planted.

The trees take up carbon dioxide as they grow. The scheme may also provide jobs in developing countries.

To be a real solution, the forests created would need to be there untouched forever. Can cause more harm than good in Northern countries. Inappropriate species can (and have been) planted leading to un-natural low biodiversity woodland and forests.

Renewable Energy Investment

The money you pay is used to sponsor renewable energy projects that are frequently in

Many sources of renewable energy are currently more expensive than burning fossil fuels.

Nothing happens about the carbon dioxide you emitted, it is still in the atmosphere. Investment can lead to technology and uses that continue to be effective potentially indefinitely, so the benefits can really be longterm.

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developing countries. Wind energy or energy from otherwise unused biomass is brought into use for instance.

Investment in renewable energy encourages their use against the financial incentive not to do so. The scheme prevents an amount of carbon dioxide being produced equal to what you were responsible for.

Environmental Impacts of Aviation

Flight through the airby insects, birds, or airplanes requires sufficient power to overcome the forces of gravity and drag. Since that first flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903, aviation has advanced at an astonishing rate to become a key component of developed economies and societies. Because of the success of aviation, aircraft operations consume increasing amounts of fuel and produce more emissions and noise. Today, the environmental impacts of aircraft, mainly engine noise and emissions, are a small but significant fraction of the total consequences of fossil fuel consumption. In the future, expected growth in the aviation sector, as well as the larger impact of some emissions when they are released at higher altitudes, will make aviation noise and emissions increasingly significant here and in other countries.

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The list of contemporary and future environmental issues that aviation must address includes the following: o takeoff and approach noise (which present different technological problems for subsonic and supersonic aircraft) o flyover noise from cruise altitudes in very quiet areas o sonic booms and hyper booms (i.e., the thermo spherically refracted and very low intensity remains of sonic booms) o taxi and engine run-up noise o fuel venting and fuel dumping o emission of CO, hydrocarbons, and NOx in the airport area (below 3,000 feet) o contrail formation o emissions of CO2 o emissions in the upper troposphere and stratosphere (from both subsonic and supersonic aircraft) of water vapor, NOx, sulfur particles, and carbon particles o potential for greenhouse effects and depletion of stratospheric ozone

Disposal of solid waste

The disposal of solid waste is a problem. This problem continues to grow with the growth of population and development of industries. Disposal of waste in open pits has become routine in majority of places. Semisolid or solid matter that are created by human or animal activities, and which are disposed because they are hazardous or useless are known as solid waste. Most of the solid wastes, like paper, plastic containers, bottles, cans, and even used cars and electronic goods are not biodegradable, which means they do not get broken down through inorganic or organic processes. Thus, when they accumulate they pose a health threat to people, plus, decaying wastes also attract household pests and result in urban areas becoming unhealthy, dirty, and unsightly places to reside in. Moreover, it also causes damage to terrestrial organisms, while also reducing the uses of the land for other, more useful purposes. As the World economy grows so does its production of wastes. As regulation of international trade in waste has been tightened (Basel Convention), and public opinion has become increasingly environmentally conscious, industrialized countries have had to develop means to deal with
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the waste they produce. Traditional waste management strategies include reusing materials, recovering materials through recycling, incineration and landfills. In recent years recycling has become the preferred choice of waste disposal for many industries. On the commercial level, government regulation usually works to the advantage of big firms and to the disadvantage of small ones. Due to a shortage of research on its possible economic and environmental spillovers, the practice of reusing materials remains as yet a gray area. Each method of waste disposal has its drawbacks. There is a strong movement in many countries to reduce the volume of wastes to be dumped. The increase of composting sites is an indication that organic fraction of garbage can be converted into a useful and commercial product with a higher value. For inert materials, technologies are needed to use wastes as raw materials to produce new products. Development of new materials from recycled materials will also encourage sorting of solid wastes. Zero Waste movement also targets industries and waste exchange. 40 % of land filled wastes in most of the countries come from building materials and this suggests that such wastes can be avoided by developing long-lasting materials and dwellings to reduce wastes from need to rebuild.

Carbon capture

Carbon capture involves trapping the carbon dioxide at its emission source, transporting it to a storage location (usually deep underground) and isolating it. This means we could potentially grab excess CO2 right from the power plant, creating greener energy. The transportation of captured carbon can be very expensive Carbon capture and storage requires significant water. Greenpeace International, an environmental non-profit organization, stated the following in a May 2008 report authored by Emily Rochon et al., titled "False Hope: Why Carbon Capture and Storage Won't Save the Climate," available at www.greenpeace.org: "CCS will also use more precious resources. Power stations with capture technology will need 90% more freshwater than those without." Cheaper cleaner natural gas will smother carbon capture and storage In a world where there is the serious possibility of cheap, relatively clean gas, who will commit large sums of money to expensive pieces of equipment to lower carbon emissions? -Paul Stevens, senior research fellow at Chatham House, a London- based institute for the study of international affairs, wrote in a September 2010 report. Leakage of C02 from storage sites is a risk A major concern with CCS is whether leakage of stored CO2 will compromise CCS as a climate change mitigation option. For well-selected, designed and managed geological storage sites, IPCC estimates that risks are comparable to those associated with current hydrocarbon activity. CO2 could be trapped for millions of years, and although some leakage occurs upwards through the soil,

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well selected stores are likely to retain over 99% of the injected CO2 over 1000 years. Leakage through the injection pipe is a greater risk. Carbon capture and sequestration is "green washing" for coal Carbon capture and storage is smoke-and-mirrors tactic for big coal

Flue gas desulfurization

Flue gas desulfurization is commonly known as FGD and is the technology used for removing sulfur dioxide (SO2) from the exhaust combustion flue gases of power plants that burn coal or oil to produce steam for the turbines that drive their electricity generators. The most common types of FGD contact the flue gases with an alkaline sorbent such as lime or limestone The reaction taking place in wet scrubbing using a CaCO3 (limestone) slurry produces CaSO3 (calcium sulfite) and can be expressed as: CaCO3 (solid) + SO2 (gas) CaSO3 (solid) + CO2 (gas) When wet scrubbing with a Ca(OH)2 (lime) slurry, the reaction also produces CaSO3 (calcium sulfite) and can be expressed as: Ca(OH)2 (solid) + SO2 (gas) CaSO3 (solid) + H2O (liquid) When wet scrubbing with a Mg(OH)2 (magnesium hydroxide) slurry, the reaction produces MgSO3 (magnesium sulfite) and can be expressed as: Mg(OH)2 (solid) + SO2 (gas) MgSO3 (solid) + H2O (liquid) Some FGD systems go a step further and oxidize the CaSO3 (calcium sulfite) to produce marketable CaSO4 2H2O (gypsum): CaSO3 (solid) + O2 (gas) + 2H2O (liquid) CaSO4 2H2O (solid)
Fossil fuels such as coal and oil contain significant amounts of sulfur. When burned, about 95 percent or more of the sulfur is generally converted to sulfur dioxide. This happens under normal conditions of temperature and of oxygen present in the flue gas. However, there are circumstances under which this may not be the case. For example, when the flue gas has too much oxygen and the sulfur dioxide is further oxidized to sulfur trioxide (SO3). Actually, too much oxygen is only one of the ways that 15

SO3 is formed. Gas temperature is also an important factor. At about 800 C, formation of SO3 is favored. Another way that SO3 can be formed is through catalysis by trace metals in the fuel. This is particularly true for heavy fuel oil, where small amounts of vanadium are present and which act as a catalyst. In whatever way that SO3 is formed, it does not behave like SO2 in that it forms a liquid aerosol known as sulfuric acid (H2SO4) mist that is very difficult to remove. Generally, about 1% of the sulfur dioxide will be converted to sulfur trioxide. Since sulfur trioxide is an acid gas, just as is sulfur dioxide, it is also removed by the alkaline sorbents used in FGD systems.

Renewable hydrogen power

Hydrogen can store energy efficiently. When electricity is applied to water molecules (H2O), you can separate the hydrogen (H) from the oxygen (O) atoms so that the hydrogen can be stored for later use. A fuel cell uses hydrogen as a power source to create electricity through a simple electrochemical process. The only byproducts from the fuel cell are breathable oxygen, drinkable water and some heat.

a. Through a simple chemical reaction, a proton exchange membrane removes an electron from a hydrogen atom. b. The freed electron travels though a wire to power any electrical device. c. The hydrogen atom, minus one electron, is released to the air, where it combines with an oxygen atom to form pure water.

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Global warming and depletion of ozone layer

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Ozone (O3) high in the atmosphere absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the sun, thereby protecting living organisms below from this dangerous radiation. The term ozone hole refers to recent depletion of this protective layer over Earth's Polar Regions. People, plants, and animals living under the ozone hole are harmed by the solar radiation now reaching the Earth's surfacewhere it causes health problems from eye damage to skin cancer. The ozone hole, however, is not the mechanism of global warming. Ultraviolet radiation represents less than one percent of the energy from the sunnot enough to be the cause of the excess heat from human activities. Global warming is caused primarily from putting too much carbon into the atmosphere when coal, gas, and oil are burned to generate electricity or to run our cars. These gases spread around the planet like a blanket, capturing the solar heat
that would otherwise be radiated out into space. As I look upon my earth Hear the problems the unearth They call it global warming I see my world is changing Bursting at the seams I see the ice caps melting Watch the sea level rise I watch as the species slowly dies I dont know what it means I listen to humans

I know the cause of this I know the solution too but the moon has no voice theres nothing I can do.

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