Environmental Issues Test - 11

From September 21 to 30, 2006 the average area of the ozone hole was the largest ever observed, at 10.6 million square miles. It is called as Antarctic ozone hole.

According to U.S. greenhouse gas emissions report methane (CH₄) accounted of the second largest percentage of greenhouse gases after Chlorofluorocarbon (CFCs).

Greenhouse effect causes increase in temperature of earth.

Warm-blooded animal species can maintain a body temperature higher than their environment. In particular, homeothermic species maintain a stable body temperature by regulating metabolic processes. The only known homeotherms are birds and mammals.

Homeotherms can tolerate high temperature. So, homeotherms will be able to cope with the effect of green house effect.

Ozone occurs in two layers of the atmosphere. The layer closest to the Earth's surface is the troposphere. Here, ground-level or "bad" ozone is an air pollutant that is harmful to breathe and it damages crops, trees and other vegetation. It is a main ingredient of urban smog.

The troposphere generally extends to a level about 6 miles up, where it meets the second layer, the stratosphere. The stratosphere or "good" ozone layer extends upward from about 6 to 30 miles and protects life on Earth from the sun's harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays.

Ozone layer (stratospheric ozone) is a high concentration of ozone molecules about 30 to 50 km altitude (stratosphere). The main function of the ozone layer is to absorb the Sun's ultraviolet radiation, hence protecting the Earth from its harmful effects.

The depletion of ozone layer allows entering of UV rays from sun into the earth’s atmosphere which is associated with a number of health related and environmental issues.

Skin Cancer: exposure to UV rays from sun can lead to increased risk for developing of several types of skin cancers. Malignant melanoma, basal and squamous cell carcinoma are the most common cancers caused by exposure to UV rays.

Eye Damage: UV rays are harmful for our eyes too. Direct exposure to UV rays can lead to Cataract problems, and also Photokeratitis or snow blindness.

Damage to Immune system: our immune system is also highly vulnerable to UV rays. Increased exposure to UV rays can lead to weakening of the response of immune system and even impairment of the immune system in extreme cases.

Green house gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect.

Many greenhouse gases occur naturally in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and nitrous oxide, while others are synthetic. Those that are man-made include the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and Perfluorocarbons (PFCs), as well as sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). Oxygen is not a green house gas.

Photochemical smog is a mixture of air pollutants which have been chemically altered into further noxious compounds by exposure to sunlight. The main components of photochemical smog are nitrogen oxides, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), tropospheric ozone, and PAN (peroxyacytyl nitrate).The smog causes poor visibility on roads and airports.

A greenhouse gas (often abbreviated as GHG) is a gas that both absorbs and emits radiation in the infrared range, commonly called thermal radiation or heat. When present in the atmosphere, these gases trap radiation in the form of heat, causing a warming process called the greenhouse effect.

These gases are transparent to solar radiation.

The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December 1997

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which commits its Parties by setting internationally binding emission reduction targets.

Recognizing that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity, the Protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations under the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities."