Fossil Fuel Consumption, CO2 And Its Impact On Global Climate Essay, Research Paper

Fossil Fuel Consumption, CO2 and its impact on Global Climate

Background:

At the beginning of human history, we had to fulfill our energy demands ( for nutrient, heat and motion ) by utilizing our ain musculus power and assemblage or runing of course available workss, animate beings and wood. Each phase in the development of human society ( the development of agriculture, domestication of animate beings, tackling of air current and H2O power ) increased the mean per capita energy usage, but it was the Industrial Revolution and the development of dodo fuels which marked the transmutation of societies into the energy-intensive economic systems of today.

Since the 18th century the industrialising states have come to trust on non-renewable energy resources, and at present about 80 per cent ( Myers, 1994 ) of the universe & # 8217 ; s commercial energy is derived from oil, coal and gas. Although it has been observed that the growing of energy ingestion is closely correlated with the additions in gross national merchandise therefore our economic development, the major beginnings of energy ( that is fossil fuels ) are & # 8217 ; stock resources & # 8217 ; . Fossil fuels are consumed by usage and the current ingestion forms are non-sustainable. It is recognised that energy preservation and the development of renewable energy beginnings will be needed to prolong economic growing.

The measure of finally recoverable fossil fuels is limited by geology and remains a affair of intuition, but the position of the seventiess that scarceness was at hand is still popular. It is the 1973 Oil Crisis marked the passage from abundant, low-priced energy to an epoch of increasing monetary values and scarceness. Today concerns over scarceness have been overtaken by the inquiry of whether human existences can afford to run into the environmental costs of continued dodo fuel ingestion. One of the most widespread concern related to planetary climatic alterations.

Introduction:

Climate represents normal weather status of an country over a period of many old ages. This is in contrast to endure which is the twenty-four hours to twenty-four hours alterations in the ambiance. It is now realised that our planetary & # 8220 ; climatic conventions & # 8221 ; had fluctuated in the past 1000000s of old ages which was nowhere related to human activities. However, with the increasing human population and our trust on fossil fuels since the last century, we have decidedly & # 8216 ; participated & # 8217 ; in the climatic alterations which are taking topographic point to a certain extent.

Since the Stockholm Conference in 1972, more and more attendings have been drawn to the issue of planetary heating, which is the addition in planetary temperature caused by the atmospheric nursery consequence. We have greenhouse consequence because some hint constituents of our atmosphere re-absorb and retain certain wavelengths of heat radiated from the Earth & # 8217 ; s surface, and the combustion of fossil fuels have increased the tropospheric concentration of all of these compounds, particularly carbon dioxide # ( CO2 ) .

The Greenhouse Gas? CO2: A Merchandise of Fossil Fuel Consumption:

& # 8216 ; Pollution & # 8217 ; of the ambiance from the ingestion of fossil fuels has many effects. Possibly the best know are alterations that have led to alterations in C dioxide.

In some ways carbon dioxide can non be classified as an air pollutant as it is moderately abundant in the natural ambiance ( 0.03 % ) , and it is a basic merchandise of all fossil fuel ingestion. Although the chemical reaction in burning of fossil fuels is non ever simple, it can be summarised as the release of the C combined with atmospheric O atoms to organize C dioxide. This procedure is frequently referred as respiration, such that:

C6H12O6 + 6O2 + heat? 6CO2 + 6H2O

Here, we see that C dioxide is non an dross, as a affair of fact, life on the Earth is someway depending on this gas, either straight through photosynthesis ( workss ) or indirectly via the food-chain ( animate beings ) . However, this gas plays an of import function in the heat balance of the Earth, because of its typical heat-storage belongingss.

We frequently refer C dioxide as a & # 8216 ; nursery gas & # 8217 ; , as the name implies, it is a sort of stuff that would absorb and retain heat. Carbon dioxide in the ambiance is crystalline to the Sun & # 8217 ; s short-wave radiation, which is chiefly in the ultra-violent and seeable parts of the electromagnetic spectrum ( l=0.1-1 millimeter ) . After the incident radiation has penetrated the ambiance and been absorbed by the Earth & # 8217 ; s surface, the Earth re-radiates the thermic energy ; nevertheless, because the Earth & # 8217 ; s surface temperature is comparatively low, the wavelengths of the tellurian radiation are now in the infrared ( l=4-20 millimeter ) . Carbon dioxide strongly absorbs radiation in the 7 to 14-mm wavelength part, which overlaps with the extremum of strength of the outgoing radiation. The net consequence of the C dioxide in the ambiance is to forestall some of the thermic energy from get awaying from the Earth ; hence, it leads to a warming of the ambiance. In general, the more C dioxide in the

atmosphere, the more heat that will be trapped, and a heater ambiance will ensue.

Change in Atmospheric Chemistry and Global Warming:

The combustion of peat, coal, crude oil or natural gas ( all carbonous stuffs ) virtually returns the atmospheric C that had been removed 100s of million old ages ago by trees and workss in their procedure of photosynthesis. Therefore in a sudden, comparatively brief span of clip, less than two centuries, the coeval ambiance has become burdened with huge extra measures of a strong infrared absorber, because of the use of fossil fuels in this period. It is believed that the degree of C dioxide has been increasing. Measurements of the CO2 concentration have been carried out at an observatory on Mauna Loa, whose informations is most quoted and most complete. Observations show a steady rise in atmospheric C dioxide of about 1 ppm per twelvemonth over the past one-fourth of a century. At the South Pole station, the upward CO2 tendency closely parallels that at Mauna Loa ( Kraushaar, 1988 ) . Prognosiss based on the current rate of dodo fuel ingestion suggest that by the twelvemonth 2065 the CO2 concentration will increase from its present value of 350 ppm to a value of 600 ppm. It has been estimated that the pre-industrial degree of C dioxide have been every bit low as 260-70 ppm by volume ( Goudie, 1994 ) . Therefore, it appears that the industrial universe is increasing the atmospheric CO2 contents by an appreciable sum.

It is arguable that the addition in CO2 concentration may non be induced by fossil fuel ingestion since the C rhythm is ever runing, it could be due mostly to a decrease of the biomass. However, Kraushaar and Ristinen suggested that the net biotic pool of CO2 has non been modified sufficiently to account for the C dioxide addition. They said that, & # 8220 ; Although there has been cutting of woods, there has besides been intensive agribusiness established by irrigation of land that was antecedently non really productive. & # 8221 ; and the burning of fossil fuels is that major beginning of the addition in atmospheric CO2. Furthermore, as the sum of fossil fuels consumed each twelvemonth is about known, the CO2 released can hence be estimated. Together with the degree of CO2 concentration obtained in assorted Stationss in the Earth, it is calculated that 52 % of the 14 billion tones of C dioxide is being retained in the ambiance per twelvemonth ; and 37 % sinks into the oceans, whereas the depositional locations of the staying 11 % remain cryptic at present ( Kraushaar, 1988 ) .

The following inquiry comes with the consequence of these C dioxide increases on planetary clime and here is where the contention lies. Vostok ice-core informations suggest a close correlativity between CO2 degrees and average surface temperature over the past 160,000 old ages ( Benarde, 1992 ) , but scientist still can non calculate out whether C dioxide leads temperature displacements or temperature alterations leads CO2 displacements. There may even be a 3rd factor provoke both CO2 and temperature alterations. Furthermore, the upward tendency of the modern-day planetary warming merely lasts for 15 old ages ( Tolba, 1992 ) . There have been much fluctuation on temperature before 1900. For illustration, in Europe, peculiarly low temperature conventions have been experienced during the period 1430 to 1850 A.D. Therefore, & # 8216 ; planetary heating & # 8217 ; could merely be another natural fluctuation in temperature. At present clip, utilizing our current apprehension on the ambiance that based on hypothesises and theoretical accounts, we can non yet do accurate anticipations on the hereafter clime.

Decision:

Although there are still many jobs sing the relationship of C dioxide and planetary climatic alterations and even planetary warming itself, there is small inquiry that clime ( temperature ) and CO2 are inextricablely linked ( from the ice-core surveies ) and the temperature of the Earth has been increasing over the last decennary. More on that, it is a fact that the combustion of fossil fuels do let go of infrared-absorbing C dioxide to our ambiance. Therefore, it is merely a logical decision that the nursery is here, as it ever does. It appears that there is inordinate warming within the nursery which is induced by our increasing rate of dodo fuel ingestion, and the jobs that lies behind planetary climatic alteration are far making. Possibly, the existent bound to our dodo fuel ingestion will be the CO2 job but non the size of the resource. A Chinese adage says that & # 8220 ; bar is better than cure. & # 8221 ; Approaches to energy preservation could be the key.

:

Benarde, M. A. , 1992, Global Warning? Global Warming, John Wiley & A ; Sons, Inc. , 52-65.

Goudie, A. , 1994, The Human Impact on the Natural Environment, Cambridge: The MIT Press, 301-7.

Kraushaar, J. J. & A ; Ristinen, R. A. , Energy and Problems of a Technical Society, John Wiley & A ; Sons, Inc. , 394-400.

Myers, N. , 1994, The Gaia Atlas of Planet Management, London: Gaia Books Limited, 96-113.

Tolba, M. K. , 1992, The World Environment 1972-1992, London: Chapman & A ; Hall, 61-71.