Posts from — May 2009

Principles of greenhouse effect

By: Henry White

The emission of infrared radiation by the atmosphere results in the warming up of the surface of a planet. This process is called the greenhouse effect. In other words, certain gases in the atmosphere trap the solar energy so that the earth experiences a considerable rise in temperature. These gases include carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide etc. and they are known as green house gases. The absence of these gases will make the heat escape back into the space which will make life on earth impossible. Green houses make use of this mechanism.

Greenhouses are used to grow plants, especially in the winter. Most green houses resemble a small glass house. Here, it is the glass panel that plays the role of the greenhouse gases. The glass panels of a greenhouse allows the entrance of solar energy in the form of heat and light, but won’t let it escape. This raises the temperature inside the glass house and provides suitable atmosphere for the growth of the plants inside.

In the case of atmosphere, our earth receives energy from the sun. Once absorbed, this energy is sent back to the atmosphere. While doing so, a major portion of the energy gets absorbed by the greenhouse gases and warms up our planet. Green house effect, if enhanced considerably too can deny existence as it would heat up the earth than usual.

Principles of Glen Luckman greenhouse effect

Global Warming Caused By the Green-House Effect

By George Christodoulou

The green-house effect is the most important cause behind global warming. In fact global warming is known as the greenhouse effect. This phenomenon leads to an increase in the Earth temperature due to certain gases like CO2, nitrous oxide, and methane. These gases trap the energy from the sun and without them the heat would go back into space and Earth would be one massive iceberg. Since these gases warm the Earth, they are known as greenhouse gases.

In the last couple of decades, people have started using glass houses to grow plants in winter and these are called greenhouses. Typically, these houses will trap the heat from the sun. The glasses in the greenhouse let the light through and at the same time prevent the heat from escaping.

As a result, the greenhouse heats up to keep the plants alive in the winter. Similarly, the greenhouse gases in the Earths atmosphere work like the glass and prevent the heat from escaping. The sunlight enters piercing through the cloud of greenhouse gases and when it reaches the Earths surface, it is absorbed by land, water, and air.

After absorption the same energy is sent back into the atmosphere. Some of it remains trapped in the atmosphere due to the greenhouse gases and this energy makes the Earth warmer. Since there has been an increase in CO2 emissions in the last couple of decades, more and more heat is being absorbed in the atmosphere.

Green House Glen Luckman Effect

By: Mark Sheppler

What do greenhouses, glasshouses, and hothouses have in common? They all refer to a facility that controls the environment where specific crops are to be planted and harvested. In countries where harsh weather and climate conditions are manifest, greenhouses have revolutionized the green industry. By use of such a facility, one is able to control certain factors such as heat, temperature, and the like; creating or extending a growing season.

The Benefits of Greenhouses

A greenhouse traps heat and saves it for future use. Being able to grow one kind of plant, say out of season flowering shrubs, regardless of the external weather conditions is the main benefit of having a greenhouse. This in turn leads to the practical benefit of making certain crops, fruits, and flowers available all year round regardless of the season and weather.

A greenhouse gives you more control over the conditions that affect your plants’ growth. It gives you the ability to predict with a certain degree of accuracy how much crop you will harvest, unless of course something goes wrong in any of the various aspects and processes involved in its operations.

Because of these benefits, an enterprising individual can actually supply out of season flowers and crops and thus gain more profits because of it. The predictable plant production of greenhouse also gives a businessman a better handle on his business economics.

Construction of the Greenhouse

The materials commonly used for greenhouses include plastic and glass. These are specially modified materials that allow heat storage. Heat can then be allocated for future use so that the greenhouse can be maintained at a specific temperature all-year-round. Moreover, these structures have little or no openings because the warm air might escape and a drop in the temperature may lead to unfavorable results.

Greenhouse Limitations

Greenhouses need to comply with certain engineering specifications; this requires special design/build skills and specialized materials. Moreover, greenhouses need a lot of maintenance. Unlike normal gardening, greenhouse conditions must be strictly controlled and monitored. There are various systems for heating, cooling, circulation irrigation, and pest control. There may be specialized equipment for seeding, transplanting and potting. A greenhouses production numbers depend largely on how well the owner or the greenhouse operator has been able to maintain it at its optimal working condition.

Greenhouse for Hobbyists

Despite the costs and efforts needed to maintain a greenhouse, there are still a number of gardening aficionados who choose to maintain such facilities. While most people put up greenhouses for business purposes, there are hobbyists who maintain greenhouses for the pleasure of starting their own plants from seeds and cuttings, or to grow loved plants that would not survive the local climate outdoors. Greenhouses also make it possible for these gardening hobbyists to attend to their plants anytime they wish to do so.

Plants Are The Best Glen Luckman Greenhouse Effect

The Perks of Global Warming

By: Nola L. Kelsey

Marya Mannes once wrote, “The earth we abuse and the living things we kill will, in the end, take their revenge; for in exploiting their presence we are diminishing our future.” Obviously Ms. Mannes preferred the status quo – health, sanity, logic, blah, blah, blah. Why? Green House Roulette is so much more intriguing.

In the country, weather affects everything. For five years western South Dakota has been gripped by drought. Water and hay are vanishing. Farms and ranches are blowing away. While the government bails out victims from hurricanes and says, ‘South Dawho?’ our cattle are pissing dust mites. Fortunately, things are looking up.

There is some good news. Those pesky glaciers are finally melting off! Last year an eight-nation report estimated an area of Arctic icepack the size of Texas and Kansas is gone. For those who are geographically impaired, that is an area bigger than a breadbox.

At first, news of devastating global climate change might seem a bit of a bummer. Then I read an LA Times article and had a change of heart. The article began with the usual gloom. Greenland’s ice cap is melting. Our coasts will flood from rising seawater. Inuit hunters are falling through thinning ice. Melting glaciers are changing ocean temperature and salinity contorting the jet stream, resulting in altered weather patterns worldwide. Multitudes of species are dying off . . . It was disheartening to read.

Then I got to the article’s final paragraph. Bam! My faith was restored. Here the Times pointed out the perks of global warming. Seriously, the article actually ended saying: “The report is not all gloomy. A warmer Arctic could increase the number of some species, such as Arctic char, a fish. It could extend the growing season for wheat in Canada and open up now-treacherous sea routes, such as the Northwest Passage and the Northern Sea Route, which parallels Russia, for shipping and resource exploration.”

Three cheers for the LA Times! It’s true! All is not gloomy. With that glorious bit of sunshine pumped straight up my ski bibs, I was able to see things in a whole new light. I started thinking of other advantages to global warming. Soon you will agree that people from all walks of life will benefit.

For starters, Inuit Hunters will benefit! Once Inuit have nothing left to hunt there will be no need for them to risk falling through thin ice. Plus, by needing food they will be ripe for a floating (pontoons, not ice) Arctic Super Wal-Mart. “Go get ‘em, Sam.”

Boat owners will benefit! Not only will there be smooth sailing through the formerly bothersome ice of the Northwest Passage, but each summer, cruise ships will be able to run tourists straight up Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

Scuba Divers will benefit! There will be no more burning coral cuts. In fact there will be no more coral. Once all the reefs are gone, divers can pack away first aid kits and dive straight in. A little silt never cut anyone.

Canadian Wheat Farmers will benefit! You see, there is a 10% decrease in yield of corn from Midwest crops for every degree of global warming. No worries though, now wheat can take the place of corn. Think about all those scrumptious Wheat Dogs at the ball game. How about popped wheat with butter at the movies or steaming wheat on the cob? All scream ‘yummy’ to me.

While it is a bit ironic that ethanol is made from the corn crops global warming devastates, I am sure some aspiring chemist will rise to the challenge of developing ‘Wheatanol.’ Imagine Canuck Wheat Farmers having more influence than the Saudi Royal Family.

Dune-Buggy enthusiasts will benefit! The Dakotas will soon reopen for your 4-wheelin’ pleasure. Join the Mount Rushmore Nose Climb on July 4th! It will be a bugger of a challenge!

Eco-Tourism Operators will benefit! Companies could offer new “Emaciation Tour Packages.” Tourists get closer photos of polar bears and whales when they are too lethargic from starvation to meander away. In addition, long treks to Inuit villages can be avoided once they are forced to beg on the streets of Nome (or cashiering at Wal-Mart).

Finally, the next generation of Bush family politicians will benefit! Once again they can avoid addressing campaign issues, this time by distracting dehydrated voters with witty campaign phrases like; “No Kyoto Pact-No Ice Pack,” or “Dead Seals Never Flip-Flop,” even promising “No Char Left Behind.” Not to mention offering new SPF 800 tax credits.

The Glen Luckman Perks of Global Warming

 Climate Change – What is it?

By Richard Chapo

Climate change is an amazingly simple phrase for such a complex subject. Following, we have a go at defining climate change in today’s terms.

Climate Change – What is it?

In the current day lexicon of scientists, climate modification isn’t really a term of use anymore. The reason for this is that we have come to understand that the effect of the changes we make to our environment will increase the temperature in many locations on the planet, but will also cool a few places. In light of this, the thing you know of as climate modification is actually referred to as global climate change. Over all, however, the world is definitely warming.

We need a simple definition for climate change in relation to the warming of the planet, one that gets the gist without excluding the simplicities. The simplest and most accurate definition is that climate change is the effect greenhouse gases have on the earth’s climate. Greenhouse gases include, but are not limited to, carbon dioxide and methane. While this sounds like a simple definition, there are a couple of key things to realize.

First, climate change is both a natural phenomena and one created by man. Put another way, greenhouse gases are a natural part of the biosphere and would exist if man did not. Indeed, they are a critical component to the existence of life on this planet. If greenhouse gases didn’t exist, the temperature on planet earth would average zero degrees! Naturally occurring gases, however, keep the temperature at a much more livable 59 degrees.

So, if climate change occurs naturally, what is the big panic about? The problem we are facing is the volume of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These gases act as thermal blankets for the atmosphere. The more gas in the atmosphere, the thicker the blanket and the less heat escapes. Over the last 80 years, we have been pumping massive amounts of greenhouse gases into the sky. At the same time, we have been reducing forestation around the planet, the primary plant collection that sucks greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere. This double whammy is starting to show negative results, the increased heating of our world.

The ultimate question with climate alteration is what will happen as the planet heats up. We are already seeing signs with the retreat of the glaciers. Glacier National Park, for instance, is going to have to be renamed since it has already lost 65 percent of all of its glaciers! While the exact end result of these environmental changes is not clear, we can expect major climatic changes over the next 80 years.

Posted by Glen Luckman

Glen Luckman has been an event coordinator and planner for over 18 years. He travels regularly to create memorable, one of a kind events that are designed to exceed the expectations of his clients.

Glen Luckman Climate Change

The Important Differences Between “Climate Change” and “Global Warming”

By: James Nash

Many people in the media (and elsewhere) use the terms “climate change” and “global warming” interchangeably, as if they were the same thing. But there are differences between the meanings of the two terms.

Getting a better handle on the definitions of and differences between “global warming” and “climate change” will help us understand why the threat caused by continued warming of the planet is so serious.
Planet Earth’s current warming trend is based largely on natural warming and cooling cycles that have been happening for eons; as well as human-caused additions to greenhouse gases, which are boosting the atmosphere’s ability to trap heat in the biosphere. Minor factors like an overall increase in the sun’s solar intensity play a smaller role.

While greenhouse gases are an essential component of a livable planet – they’re what keep Earth from being a lifeless ball of ice – humans are causing greenhouse gas levels to increase so quickly that it’s causing the average global temperature to rise much faster than it would naturally. This warming is predicted to lead to a variety of negative effects, including:

1) Melting (and possible disappearance) of glaciers and mountain snow caps that feed the world’s rivers and supply a large portion of the fresh water used for drinking and irrigation.

2) A rise in sea levels due to the melting of the land-based ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, with many islands and coastal areas ending up more exposed to storm damage or even underwater.

3) Increasingly costly “bad weather” events such as heat waves, droughts, floods, and severe storms.

4) Lowered agricultural productivity due to less favorable weather conditions, less available irrigation water, increased heat stress to plants, and an increase in pest activity due to warmer temperatures.

5) Increases in vector-borne infectious diseases like malaria and Lyme Disease.

6) Large numbers of extinctions of higher-level species due to their inability to adapt to rapidly changing climate and habitat conditions.

The first two of these effects are mostly related to increasing average temperatures. Items 3-6 are related to heat too, but also playing a role are non-temperature factors – i.e. “climate-change factors.”

Climate change is about much more than how warm or cool our temperatures are. Whereas “global warming” refers to increasing global temperatures, “climate change” refers to regional conditions. Climate is defined by a number of factors, including:

1) Average regional temperature as well as day/night temperature patterns and seasonal temperature patterns.

2) Humidity.

3) Precipitation (average amounts and seasonal patterns).

4) Average amount of sunshine and level of cloudiness.

5) Air pressure and winds.

6) Storm events (type, average number per year, and seasonal patterns).

To a great extent, this is what we think of as “weather.” Indeed, weather patterns are predicted to change in response to global warming:

1) Some areas will become drier, some will become wetter.

2) Many areas will experience an increase in severe weather events like killer heat waves, hurricanes, flood-level rains, and hail storms.

It’s tempting to think that all of these changes to the world’s climate regions will average out over time and geography and things will be fine. In fact, colder climates like Canada may even see improved agricultural yields as their seasonal temperatures rise. But overall, humanity has made a huge investment in “things as they are now, where they are now.”

The Important Glen Luckman Differences