greenhouse effect (2024)

FAQs

What is the greenhouse effect in simple terms? ›

The greenhouse effect is the process through which heat is trapped near Earth's surface by substances known as 'greenhouse gases.' Imagine these gases as a cozy blanket enveloping our planet, helping to maintain a warmer temperature than it would have otherwise.

The Short Answer:

The greenhouse effect is a process that occurs when gases in Earth's atmosphere trap the Sun's heat. This process makes Earth much warmer than it would be without an atmosphere. The greenhouse effect is one of the things that makes Earth a comfortable place to live.

Burning fossil fuels produces huge quantities of carbon dioxide (CO₂) which is a greenhouse gas. Carbon dioxide along with other greenhouse gasses such as methane, nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are changing the composition of the atmosphere and are adding to the greenhouse effect.

Greenhouse gases have far-ranging environmental and health effects. They cause climate change by trapping heat, and they also contribute to respiratory disease from smog and air pollution. Extreme weather, food supply disruptions, and increased wildfires are other effects of climate change caused by greenhouse gases.

Without the natural greenhouse effect, the heat emitted by the Earth would simply pass outwards from the Earth's surface into space and the Earth would have an average temperature of about -20°C.

Increased greenhouse effect

The problem we now face is that human activities – particularly burning fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas), agriculture and land clearing – are increasing the concentrations of greenhouse gases. This is increasing the greenhouse effect, which is contributing to warming of the Earth.

The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon and beneficial to life on Earth. However, global warming is produced as a consequence of the combustion of fossil gases expelled by industry, livestock, vehicles and other terrestrial elements, which generate an increase in global temperature.

There is unequivocal evidence that Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate. Human activity is the principal cause. Earth-orbiting satellites and new technologies have helped scientists see the big picture, collecting many different types of information about our planet and its climate all over the world.

The largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from human activities in the United States is from burning fossil fuels for electricity, heat, and transportation. EPA tracks total U.S. emissions by publishing the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks.

What are the four consequences of the greenhouse effect? ›

The flooding of coastal cities, the desertification of fertile areas, the melting of glacial masses and the proliferation of devastating hurricanes are just some of the main consequences.

Conclusion: The greenhouse effect makes the earth much warmer than without the atmosphere. In the form of heat, it consumes infrared radiation from the sun, which is lost to space after circulating in the atmosphere. The trees and plants take carbon dioxide, and in exchange, they release oxygen.

Greenhouse Effect Basics

This is basically the same process that keeps Earth nice and warm for sustaining life. One example of the greenhouse effect that most of us experience in everyday life is the warming of a car's interior when the vehicle is left out in the sun.

Earth's greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere and warm the planet. The main gases responsible for the greenhouse effect include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and water vapor.

Greenhouses can have both positive and negative environmental impacts. Positively, they allow for year-round food production, reduce the need for chemical pesticides (through controlled environments), and can use less water than traditional farming.

Planet Earth is warm enough to sustain life thanks to gases in the planet's atmosphere that hold heat. These gases are called greenhouse gases because they act just like a greenhouse — trapping the heat inside the planet's atmosphere, making the average temperature on Earth 59 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius).

When sunlight strikes the earth's surface, some of it radiates back toward space as infrared radiation (heat). Greenhouse gases absorb this infrared radiation and trap its heat in the atmosphere, creating a greenhouse effect that results in global warming and climate change.

The added greenhouse gases absorb the heat. They then radiate this heat. Some of the heat will head away from the Earth, some of it will be absorbed by another greenhouse gas molecule, and some of it will wind up back at the planet's surface again. With more greenhouse gases, heat will stick around, warming the planet.