70 years ago, a Soviet geochemist, Vladimir I. Vernadsky, made an observation and quoted, “Through technology and sheer numbers people were becoming a geological force, shaping the planet’s future just as rivers and earthquakes had shaped its past. Eventually, global society, guided by science, would soften the human environmental impact, and earth would become a noosphere, a planet of the mind, life’s domain ruled by reason.”
This statement has become surprisingly true owing to the growing impact of human activities on globe. On one hand, human activities are causing more and more pollution, on the other hand, increasing awareness is finding ways to mend the damage done.
One such serious issue is the greenhouse effect caused by the production of Carbon dioxide and its release to the atmosphere. CO2 (Carbon dioxide) mainly behaves like the glass cover of the Green House of Cold Countries, which allows short-wave radiation to enter and be absorbed by the objects in side. The objects in turn, reradiate the heat but at longer wavelengths, to which glass is nearly opaque. As a result, the trapped heat protects the planet in the greenhouse from severe cold. It helps to raise the temperature of the lower level atmospheric air by absorbing the solar energy radiated from the earth surface. This is called green house effect and this causes global warming effecting in climate change.
The major cause of the release of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is burning of fossil fuels. Besides the soot particles released from industries also contribute to global warming. With increasing awareness, there is less soot these days and perhaps easier to control, if attended seriously. However, drastic reduction of the growth rate of carbon dioxide is still needed to stabilize the atmospheric conditions.
Global warming causes complicated human diseases. It may have significant effect on the distribution, development and propagation of insect’s pests and their interactions with agricultural crops. CO2 in higher concentration increases photosynthesis of plants, which in turn augments the growth of the plants. The leaves expand to large canopy.