GREENHOUSE GASES IN THE ATMOSPHERE

The greenhouse effect was discovered by Joseph Fourier in 1824 and was first investigated quantitatively by Svante Arrhenius in 1896. It is the process by which absorption and emission of infrared radiation by atmospheric gases warm a planet's lower atmosphere and surface.

Existence of the greenhouse effect as such is not disputed. Naturally occurring greenhouse gases have a mean warming effect of about 33 °C (59 °F), without which Earth would be uninhabitable. On Earth, the major greenhouse gases are water vapor, which causes about 36–70% of the greenhouse effect (not including clouds); carbon dioxide (CO2), which causes 9–26%; methane (CH4), which causes 4–9%; and ozone, which causes 3–7%. The issue is how the strength of the greenhouse effect changes when human activity increases the atmospheric concentrations of some greenhouse gases.

Human activity since the industrial revolution has increased the concentration of various greenhouse gases, leading to increased radiative forcing from CO2, methane, tropospheric ozone, CFCs and nitrous oxide. Molecule for molecule, methane is a more effective greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, but its concentration is much smaller so that its total radiative forcing is only about a fourth of that from carbon dioxide. Some other naturally occurring gases contribute very small fractions of the greenhouse effect; one of these, nitrous oxide (N2O), is increasing in concentration owing to human activity such as agriculture. The atmospheric concentrations of CO2 and CH4 have increased by 31% and 149% respectively since the beginning of the industrial revolution in the mid-1700s. These levels are considerably higher than at any time during the last 650,000 years, the period for which reliable data has been extracted from ice cores. From less direct geological evidence it is believed that CO2 values this high were last attained 20 million years ago. Fossil fuel burning has produced about three-quarters of increase in CO2.

Causes

The Earth's climate changes in response to external forcing, including variations in its orbit around the Sun (orbital forcing), volcanic eruptions, and atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. The detailed causes of the recent warming remain an active field of research, but the scientific consensus is that the increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases due to human activity caused most of the warming observed since the start of the industrial era. This attribution is clearest for the most recent 50 years, for which the most detailed data are available. Some other hypotheses departing from the consensus view have been suggested to explain the temperature increase. One such hypothesis proposes that warming may be the result of variations in solar activity.

None of the effects of forcing are instantaneous. The thermal inertia of the Earth's oceans and slow responses of other indirect effects mean that the Earth's current climate is not in equilibrium with the forcing imposed. Climate commitment studies indicate that even if greenhouse gases were stabilized at 2000 levels, a further warming of about 0.5 °C (0.9 °F) would still occur.

GLOBAL WARMING

global warming

Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-twentieth century and its projected continuation.

The global average air temperature near the Earth's surface rose 0.74 ± 0.18 °C (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) during the hundred years ending in 2005.[1] The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes "most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-twentieth century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations" via the greenhouse effect. Natural phenomena such as solar variation combined with volcanoes probably had a small warming effect from pre-industrial times to 1950 and a small cooling effect from 1950 onward. These basic conclusions have been endorsed by at least thirty scientific societies and academies of science, including all of the national academies of science of the major industrialized countries. While individual scientists have voiced disagreement with some findings of the IPCC, the overwhelming majority of scientists working on climate change agree with the IPCC's main conclusions.

Climate model projections summarized by the IPCC indicate that average global surface temperature will likely rise a further 1.1 to 6.4 °C (2.0 to 11.5 °F) during the twenty-first century. The range of values results from the use of differing scenarios of future greenhouse gas emissions as well as models with differing climate sensitivity. Although most studies focus on the period up to 2100, warming and sea level rise are expected to continue for more than a thousand years even if greenhouse gas levels are stabilized. The delay in reaching equilibrium is a result of the large heat capacity of the oceans.

Increasing global temperature will cause sea level to rise, and is expected to increase the intensity of extreme weather events and to change the amount and pattern of precipitation

REDO YOUR BEDROOM

Make your bedroom more sleep-friendly.If noise from adjacent room keepings you,move your bed to another wall.Replace a sagging mattress and defalted pillows.
If you must keep a computer switched on in the bedroom,cover the green light on the monitor's switch with black electrical tape.
If you insist on falling asleep with the TV on,use a timer.Eliminate clutter,another possible anxiety inducer.
And adjust the AC:The best sleeping temperature for most people is comfortably cool but not cold.Breus recommends 20 to 22 degrees.

3.FOLLOW THE 20-MINUTE RULE.

If you can't fall a sleep in about 20 minutes,whether at bedtime or after awakening in the night,go into another room and do something else until you get dorowsy."The bedroom needs to be associated with sleeping not with being restless,"says Clete Kushida,MD,director of a US centre for human sleep Research.Estimate the 20 minutes;don't use a clock or watch,which causes alternatess and possible stress.Avoid things requiring concentration,such as video games;stimulating activities,like vigorous exercise or cleaning;or anything upsetting,like watching the news or paying bills.Try light reading or listening to music.

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CUT THE LIGHT AT NIGHT

Avoid bright ligh,which singnals the brain to be alert,within two to three hours of bedtime or if you wake up during the night.Michael Breus,PhD,author of GOOD NIGHT:The sleep Doctors's 4-week program to Better Sleep and Better Health,suggests aiming for no more than 45 to 60 watts of light in the room when winding down before bedtime,and no more than 30 to 40watts of indirect light when you're trying to sleep.Use low wattage or shielded night-lights in hallways and bathrooms.Make sure your bed is out of the way of directsunlight,moonlight or streetlights.Consider blackout shades or an eye shade to keep out early morning light,or use clips to hold curtains closed. help cement the sleep-wake cycle by exposing yourself to bright light within an hour of walking up for the day,either by taking a 30-minuteswalk outside or by lingering in part of the house thats gets a lot of sunlight.

LET GO OF YOUR WORRIES.

Anxities often seem magnified in the still of the night.Dealing with them can help you sleep.Just writing down worries,deadlines or to-dos before hitting the pillow can make them feel more manageable. Do whatever helps you relax.Ask your partner to give you a massage.Or have sensual,not-too-athletic sex.Try simple yoga exercises,like the forward bend:standing with your legs hip-width apart,bend at your waist,letting your arms and head dangle while releasing the tention in your neck and shoulders.Or while lying on your back,do progressive muscle relaxtion,tensing and then releasing body parts,beginning with your feet and progressing towards your forehead. Find yourself constantly yawning?Some experts say it may be linked to not getting enough oxygen to the brain.Deep-breathing exercises,inwhich you focus on talking along,deep abdominal breaths,may help relieve pent-up tentsion(and the yawns)

NEW WAYS TO SLEEP WELL

Can't SLEEP?Join crowd.Millions of people have trouble getting enoughrestorative shut eye.With recent research linking lack of sleep to health problems ranging from hypertension to weight gain,there's more reason than ever to make over your sleep habits.But how? You may have tried meditaion.You know to stay away from saboteurs like caffine,nicotine and alchol.And you've probably heard it's not wise to exercise too vigorously or eat too big meal a couple of hours before bedtime.Perhaps you've even tried to stick to a regular sleep-wake schedule.Here,experts offer some snooze tips you may not have heard before:
THERE ARE THE SOME PARTS:---------1.LET GO OF YOUR WORRIES.2.CUT THE LIGHT AT NIGHT.3FOLLOW THE 20-MINUTE RULE.4.REDO YOUR BEDROOM.