Environmental Awareness

Most people do not think we have a environmental problem or if they do they don't see it as their problem or something they can change.  They are quite content to ignore the warning signs and leave it to someone else to do something about it

But the truth of the matter is we do have a problem and we do need to take responsibility for our part in it and accept that we can do something about it - if only to raise awareness and remember that if we don't recognize that we have a problem it cannot be dealt with. 

Environmental awareness is a massive issue for us to consider and covers aspects such as recycling and  environmentally friendly products as well as more wide spread issues such as atmospheric pollution.

The Greenhouse Effect
 

The greenhouse effect is a perfectly natural phenomenon that is essential to keeping the Earth's surface warm. Without it, there would not be life as we know it. Like a greenhouse window, greenhouse gases allow sunlight to enter and then prevent heat from leaving the atmosphere. Water vapour (H2O) is the most important greenhouse gas, followed by carbon dioxide(CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), halocarbons, and ozone (O3). However, much higher concentrations of greenhouse gases than naturally occur-mostly from burning fossil fuels-are trapping excess heat in the atmosphere and are warming the Earth's surface faster than at any time in recorded history.

To find out more you can visit this web site

However, problems may arise when the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases increases. In the past plant respiration and the decomposition of organic matter has released more than 10 times the CO2 than any other activities, but this has largely been balanced by carbon dioxide being absorbed by terrestrial vegetation and the oceans. Scientists believe that the combustion of fossil fuels and other human activities are the primary reason for the increased concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. These increases have improved the heat-trapping capability of the earth's atmosphere and resulted in what we now term Global Warming or Climate Change

Again we need to ask the question "what can we do about it?"

One sensible answer might be to "reduce what you can and offset what you can't". For a good explanation of what this might mean in reality and for excellent suggestions regarding what you can do to reduce your carbon footprint you can visit this website