The Unbalanced Planet

Greenhouse effect, well if youve been living since the 1900s, the chances of you hearing this
word are pretty high. Now if youre not familiar with greenhouse gasses and the process or their
purpose youll probably have a negative understanding of what greenhouses are. Thanks to the
media or probably due to our own lack of inquisition on the matter we tend to think greenhouse
gases are completely bad for the environment. Not only does the average person not know what
greenhouses are but they also carry a negative connotation; for the past several years, people
think that greenhouse effect which leads to global warming is a bogus concept or people forget
that greenhouse gases are natural and they contribute to the sustainability of life on earth.

Pretty much Im here to tell you that Greenhouse gases are a natural occurrence which acquires
in our stratosphere, that greenhouse gases are more than just unwanted atoms floating around
in the atmosphere. How do they work exactly? Wel the suns rays enter the Earths atmosphere
as short wavelength rays, which passes through greenhouse gases reaching the surface of
Earth; some are irradiated back to space. However when they are irradiated the short
wavelength changes too long wavelengths which then get trapped by greenhouse gases;
essentially the more greenhouses gases there are in the troposphere the warmer our planet will
become1. Now what atoms make up greenhouses gases? Well they consist of the most of
Carbon Dioxide (CO2); youve probably heard how CO2 has been contributing to global
warming; that is true but CO2s is the natural currency of our planet.

The Carbon Cycle2: its what makes earth so unique among the other planets. Take for instance
the moon, during the day it can be up to 100 degrees celsius while at night it can be as cold as
negative 170 degrees celsius. In contrast Earth is protected by our atmosphere ozone (O3)
molecules protect us from the suns harmful rays while letting in heat; then this heat is retained
by greenhouse gases which is why at night we dont freeze.3 This processes helps stabilize our
planet's temperatures. These gases prevent the heat that is received from the sun from
immediately escaping so keeping it relatively warm at night. However, due to anthropogenic
weve seen an excess amount of CO2 in the atmosphere which cannot be evenly distributed in
throughout our planet. Plants and trees take in carbon dioxide through a process known as
photosynthesis but due to the excess amount of CO2 it can not remove all of molecules in the
atmosphere. Which is why youve been hearing this term the greenhouse effect which is
described to explain the negative effects of excess greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere; too
much greenhouse gasses is keeping our planet warm acting as a blanket, which is the cause for
rising temperatures.

1
EnvironmentalEducator. How Greenhouse Gases Trap Heat -Atmos 5/7 Youtube, education by
Environmental Educator, 11 SEP. 2017, youtu.be/w2WtgZaHxFE
2
Qiang, Sun. "Urban Land Regulation and the Global Carbon Cycle: Its Ecological and Economic
Effects." Open House International, vol. 42, no. 3, Sept. 2017, p. 25
3
MinutEarth. How Do Greenhouse Gases Actually Work? Youtube, education by Henry Reich, 11 SEP.
2017 youtu.be/sTvqlijqvTg
 What is contributing to the warming of the planet? Well burning of fossil fuels and oils have
contributed to the CO2s in our planet, by burning these fossil fuels we are disrupting the natural
balance of the planet, by this I mean the carbon cycle. Another unique factor is nitrous oxide
from soil and fertilizers; though this agriculture necessity has helped millions around the world
grow food it has also contributed to global warming. Let me explain, nitrogen is the nutrient most
commonly used in food production which helps produce healthy food and replenish soil.
However, the application needs to be well managed, because waterlogged soil has little oxygen
for the bacteria that live in soil. Why is this bad? Well because the bacteria adapts by using
nitrate rather than oxygen so essential it is stealing the oxygen from the molecules which
undergoes a processes known as denitrification; most of the gases released are in the form of
N2, but a small amount released are in the form of N2O nitrous oxide. N20 a greenhouse gas
that is 300 times more powerful than CO2.4

Now what can we do? Well its going to require community effort and global mobilization5,
corporations are more concerned about their bottom dollar but we mustn't allow them to keep
upholding this narrative. We have science and humanity on our side, let us to take charge of our
future, for if we dont the consequences are severely dire; we will experience droughts,
inevitable fires, stronger tropical storms and climate refuges.6 We should start thinking of
sustainable energy we need to start moving away from fossil fuels which has disrupted this
planet carbon cycle and rethink applications of agriculture to avoid denitrification that release
N20 into the atmosphere. This might seem like a lot of trouble but this is precisely why we need
more scientists and more individuals embracing science in their lives in order for us to
understand and invent new techniques that will better human lives.

4
Fertcare Managing nitrous oxide emissions from soil & fertilizer Youtube, education by fercare, 11
SEP. 2017 youtu.be/CEOxRfMkPV8
5
Grace, Peter Meet N2O, the greenhouse gas 300 times worse than CO2 T he Conversion, December
8, 2014 Accessed 11 SEP. 2017
6
outube, education by M
Asapscience What If All The Ice Melted On Earth? ft. Bill Nye Y itchell Moffit
and Gregory Brown, 11 SEP. 2017 youtu.be/b6CPsGanO