Re: What is Greenhouse Effect and What are Greenhouse Gases?

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A greenhouse is a house made up of glass. It can be used to grow 
flowers and plants as it has glass walls and a glass roof. When 
sun shines, it warms the plants and air inside. The heat that is 
grabbed inside the greenhouse can’t escape out and therefore it 
remains warmer which is essential for the plants growth as it 
helps them in the process of photosynthesis.

Now, the Earth’s atmosphere does the same as greenhouse do. 
During the day when the sun shines, it heats up the Earth’s 
atmosphere. The Earth absorbs some of this energy and heats up. 
At night, when temperature goes down, the Earth cools down by 
giving different form of energy called as infrared radiation. 
But, before this heat gets escape back into the space, it is 
absorbed by the greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere. This 
is what makes the Earth’s surface warmer too that makes it 
possible for the survival of human beings on this planet. 
Without greenhouse effect, this planet would be a very cold 
place to survive for human mankind.

In a nutshell, the greenhouse effect is a natural process by 
which the radiation from the sun warms the Earth’s surface 
enough to support human life. According to NASA, it’s this 
equilibrium of incoming and outgoing radiation
that maintains the average temperature of Earth to about 59 
degrees Fahrenheit i.e. 15 degrees Celsius.

The alarm bells have been ringing since as far back as the 
nineteen fifties about the looming crises due to the increased 
levels of what has been termed greenhouse gasses in our earth’s 
atmosphere. No-one really knew just how serious the consequences 
were of allowing greenhouse gasses to increase unchecked until 
recent years. Today, those consequences are clearly visible and 
also felt;

Even if we didn’t have greenhouse gases, were going to have to 
move away from fossil fuels, as we’re going to run out. They’re 
finite, whereas solar and wind are infinite.
~Ted Turner

Consequences of increased levels of greenhouse gasses due to 
human activity

Higher temperatures in previously cold regions such as Alaska, 
USA.
Higher sea temperatures and rising sea levels.
Extreme weather patterns and high incidences of storms due to 
changing effects of earth’s ice shelf.
Fortunately, more information in layman’s terms is widely 
available. What you are about to read next follows that trend 
and serves as a brief introduction to what has been termed the 
greenhouse effect by scientists. It will also help clear up one 
or two misconceptions about the greenhouse effect.

READ:  Is Recycling a Weapon Against Global Warming?
Misconceptions

Greenhouse effect is responsible for today’s global warming and 
climate change.
Global warming and climate change happened before in earth’s 
history so this remains a natural phenomenon.
The greenhouse effect in a nutshell is this. As a natural 
process it is actually a good thing. The term was originally 
coined from close observations within a nursery’s greenhouse. 
The glass that absorbs the sun’s UV rays acts as a filter and 
serves as a metaphor for the way the earth’s atmosphere 
currently warms the earth. This greenhouse effect is in essence 
necessary to warm the earth and is not the reason why 
temperatures have risen so dramatically over the last few years.

How Greenhouse Effect Works?
While the sun’s rays are harmful to the earth and all life on 
it, its rays are also necessary life giving sources of energy. 
The greenhouse effect, while controlling the sun’s harmful rays, 
retains the sun’s energy within the earth’s atmosphere.

Absorbed energy is transferred back to earth’s atmosphere as 
heat.
While heat moves through and out of earth’s atmosphere, 
greenhouse gases absorb much of it.
After this absorption, most of the heat is transferred into the 
earth.
These are the key features

The key features of the greenhouse effect can be highlighted as 
follows. To emphasize, note that the greenhouse effect acts as a 
necessary buffering system against the sun’s rays. So, these 
features should be regarded as inherently positive.

A natural stabilizer – We know that the sun’s temperature and 
its rays are harmful to us. What the greenhouse effect 
essentially entails is acting as a stabilizer of these extreme 
effects and allowing the earth to remain cooler for much longer.
The mirror effect – Think of it as image projecting. You are 
able to check your image in the mirror and correct it. Also, the 
greenhouse mirror is thick enough to withstand the sun’s rays, 
causing it to reflect back out of the earth’s atmosphere.
A life-giving source – By stabilizing temperatures to moderate 
levels on average, the greenhouse effect acts as a giver of 
life. The extreme alternatives; very high temperatures and cold 
temperatures well below zero are not conducive to life.
The blanket effect – To continue from the first remark made 
about the greenhouse effect being a natural stabilizer, it can 
also be regarded as a metaphor for keeping all life, flora and 
fauna, warm in extremely cold temperatures.
READ:  30 Easy Ways To Stop Global Warming
The earth’s atmosphere remains vulnerable to the deadly effects 
of greenhouse gasses mainly due to humankind’s actions and its 
laggard responses to critically address the warnings made by 
climatologists. Perhaps the term ‘greenhouse gasses’ needs to be 
rephrased in the context of today’s dramatic effects of global 
warming and climate change because the term is misunderstood.

Greenhouse Gases
A re-think may be required in regard to the naming of the 
greenhouse effect and its natural follower greenhouse gases. 
Most people correctly associate this with global warming and 
climate change but inadvertently remain ignorant of the true 
nature of these terms. In all its natural form, what makes up 
the effect and gases are listed here;

Carbon dioxide – It is naturally made up of carbon and dioxide. 
Before the onset of the industrial revolution, CO2 was at a 
manageable and sustainable level. Today, it is measured to be 
over 400 parts per million volume, dangerously high due to the 
increased rate of burning fossil fuels.
Methane – It is said to be more powerful than carbon dioxide and 
yet there are only small quantities of it found in the earth’s 
atmosphere. Methane gas is burned to produce fuel, but man’s 
contribution to this has resulted in the earth’s temperature 
rising rapidly over the years. It contains just one carbon but 
has four hydrogen atoms.
Water vapor and Nitrous dioxide – along with carbon dioxide and 
methane, these gases are held together loosely, allowing them to 
vibrate. When they vibrate, they produce heat and release 
radiation.
Links between greenhouse effect, global warming and climate 
change

This next explanation should go a long way towards helping to 
clear the confusion or misunderstanding on the true greenhouse 
effect and its purpose and now also its association with global 
warming and climate change.

Greenhouse gases contribute towards the greenhouse effect. 
Before industrialization and the rapid rise in the world’s 
population, this was always at a manageable level, allowing the 
effect to warm the earth in a balanced, natural way. But with 
industrialization, greenhouse gasses increased dramatically.
It is also important to note the key differences between climate 
change and global warming. Here, this is noted briefly. Climate 
change basically means a shift in the globe’s weather patterns 
mainly due to human actions.
Global warming, as the terms states, means that the Earth’s 
temperature is rising rapidly and record temperature highs are 
being recorded since readings were first taken. This is mainly 
due to the increased levels of greenhouse gasses being released 
into the earth’s atmosphere.
READ:  25+ Remarkable Ways to Prevent Air Pollution
Causes of Greenhouse Gases
Since before the beginning of the previous century, humankind 
has been responsible for the rapid increase of the earth’s 
temperature and not the greenhouse effect and the natural 
process of global warming that accompanies it.

Industrialization – Since before the twentieth century, the 
increased levels of greenhouse gasses have contributed to the 
excessive burning of human-induced fossil fuels and the release 
of more heat into the earth’s atmosphere.
Dumping – Human waste is made up of high levels of carbon 
dioxide and methane gas which disenables the natural greenhouse 
effect’s ability to transfer energy normally.
Artificial power – Motorized and electrical processes are 
another harmful contributor towards raising the bar of the new 
greenhouse gas effect.
Deforestation – The cutting down of forests within the earth’s 
green lungs is a major debilitating contributor towards the 
earth’s inability to process natural transmissions of the sun’s 
energy via the greenhouse gas effect.
Agriculture – Industrialized agriculture (and not organic 
farming) has seen to it that far too much carbon dioxide and 
methane gas has entered the earth’s atmosphere. This is from the 
carbons and gas released by large herds of cattle and other 
agricultural animal species.
In conclusion, there is no time to delay necessary action. At 
least now that you have a brief overview of what the greenhouse 
effect is, you are empowered with the knowledge to make a 
difference and actively campaign to reduce the dangerous effects 
greenhouse gases caused by humankind and not the scientific 
expression of the greenhouse effect are having on our earth’s 
atmosphere.

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