The Greenhouse Effect has been in existence for over four billion years, without it the Earth would be too cold for most living organisms to survive. Recently scientists have been concerned with the mutilating consequences humans have on the ozone. It is the aim of this paper to discuss the greenhouse Effect and to evaluate its effect on the environment.
In 1928 chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) were created by an American engineer, Thomas Midgely to replace ammonia, a common refrigerant at that time. CFCs have a low boiling point, was non-toxic and normally non-reactive, which Midgely proved by breathing in the gas and using it to blow out a candle in front of the American Chemical Association. Midgely exclusively created CCl2F2 (CFC-12). Yet, CFCs exist in a whole variety of compounds. Each compound has its own unique boiling point for different situations. Additional to Its initial use as a refrigerant, CFCs could be used in a whole family of sprays, repellents, lubricants, cleaning solutions and asthma inhalers. Unknown to Midgely was the destructive effect CFCs had on the ozone.
In the late 1970s Sherry Rowland and Mario Molina discovered that CFCs were destroying the essential ozone. The CFCs non reactive feature gives them a lifespan which can exceed one hundred years making CFCs one of the worst pollutants. CFCs (known as Greenhouse gases from here on)rise into the atmosphere and pollute the ozone letting sunbeams enter the atmosphere but not leave, as the sunbeams pile up the earths temperature rises. Greenhouse gases aren't only CFCs; there are other Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide in fossil fuels and carbon monoxide from car exhaust.
By 2010 CFCs are predicted to be banned worldwide but that won't stop the damage that is already in place. According to CBS, rising ocean temperatures are said to be increasing the intensity of hurricanes, like the one that tore down New Orleans. In twenty five to thirty five years the arctic would be almost gone. “The oceans in the northern hemisphere are the warmest they have been on record,” says Bob Corell, one of the world's foremost authorities on climate change.” When they get up in that temperature they spin off hurricanes. The one thing we can say with a fairly high degree of confidence is the severity of the storms; they're going to be more severe.”
Thomas Midgely created CFCs to replace ammonia as a refrigerant. He proved that they were non-toxic and non-reactive. CFCs are the biggest contributors of Greenhouse gases, live for one hundred or more years and trap sunbeams in the atmosphere. The polar caps are melting and the sea levels and temperature is raising causing hurricanes to amplify. CFCs will soon be banned all over the world.
