The Greenhouse Effect
Global Warming is a major environmental problem facing the world. It is occurring as a result of a process known as 'The Greenhouse Effect'.
What is 'The Greenhouse Effect'?
The Greenhouse Effect is a natural process that is very similar to a garden greenhouse.
Like the glass in a greenhouse, light energy passes through the earth's atmosphere, warming the earth's surface. Heat is then released back into the atmosphere from our land and oceans. Greenhouse gases in the earth's atmosphere (see table below) capture this reflected heat and trap some of it within the atmosphere, keeping the earth 33 degrees warmer than it would normally be at its distance from the sun.
The greenhouse effect is a natural process. Without the greenhouse effect earth would be about minus 18 degrees Celsius and earth would be covered in a permanent blanket of ice.
It is the enhanced greenhouse effect, which is caused by human activities, that is causing concern world wide.
Causes of the Enhanced Greenhouse Effect
Since the industrial revolution, 200 years ago, many human activities have changed the balance of the greenhouse effect.
These every day activities have increased the concentration of greenhouse gasses by 28% since the 18th century. This is called the 'Enhanced Greenhouse Effect'.
The following are activities that contribute to the enhanced greenhouse effect:
- Driving cars and other motorised transport such as planes, boats and trains.
- Burning fossil fuels such as coal, for electricity generation and heating.
- Clearing vegetation, for farmland, housing, and fuel.
One of the major effects of the enhanced greenhouse effect is that the earth has started to rapidly warm up. This is called 'Global Warming', which is having many adverse impacts on the planet.
