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3] The Albedo Effect
With the massive deforestation of the continent's forests, we have also markedly increased the reflectivity, or albedo, of the Earth, and hence, markedly reduced the absorption of solar energy into our biosphere. This is the other driving force, and the contributing cause of the increasing record low temperatures.
This is how it works, and it is at its clearest in winter. Where once vast forests covered the continents with a dark green, an energy absorbent hue, there are now vast open spaces covered in snow, which reflect most of the sun's incoming energy back into space.
And even the bare deciduous forests in winter once markedly reduced the albedo of the continents, giving them a thin brown hue instead of todays glaring white. The invevitable result of the decimation of the continent's forests is colder winters and now increasing record low temperatures - because just outside of our atmosphere, the temperature of space is just a few degrees above absolute zero.
These then are the reasons why we are now getting record low temperatures in winter and record high temperatures in summer.
4] The UVB Effect
The massive, and steadily growing ozone holes over the arctic and antarctic, and the substantially thinner ozone layer over the rest of the world now allows far more hard UVB radiation to reach the surface of the Earth. UVB radiation carries higher energy than visible light, and hence, delivers more energy into our biosphere.
The first of many effects is the greater evaporation and lofting of water into our atmosphere, and markedly greater precipitation. A second effect is a greater temperature differential between day and night, and between the day and night sides of the planet. This results in markedly greater turbulence of our atmosphere - and more severe and frequent storms and hurricanes. A third effect is the sun-burning of plants, animals and people, with nascent organisms at the greatest risk. This is already well underway (see
FISH GETTING UVB SUNBURNS). Eventually, and in our time, the increasing UVB radiation will burn away all living things on the surface of the Earth.
This too is the direct result of the decimation of the Earth's forests, since the Earth's forest, and other terrestrial - and not marine - photosynthesis generates about 75% of the free oxygen - and hence the ozone - in our atmosphere (see FORESTS - THE FOUNDATION OF OUR BIOSPHERE in these pages ).
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