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The Greenhouse Effect

The phrase greenhouse effect can be used to describe two different scientific phenomena.

The first is the entirely natural process by which the atmosphere prevents heat from escaping back into space.

It is the mechanism by which the average surface temperature on earth is maintained at hospitable 60 degrees Fahrenheit .

When energy from the sun reaches the planet’s, some of it is absorbed, warming the ground, and some of it is reflected into space.

Water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and other gases in the atmosphere —— known collectively as the greenhouse gases —— trap some of the outgoing energy, like the glass panels of a greenhouse.

Without the greenhouse effect, the earth would be so cold that life would be impossible.

The expression greenhouse effect also refers to an increase in greenhouse gases over the last century that may be contributing to global warming.

The earth’s surface temperature has risen one degree in the past hundred years, with a sharp increase since the 1980’s, according to the  National Academy of Sciences.

The year 1998 was the hottest year on record.

At the same time, greenhouse gases, proven to retain heat, have increased dramatically.

Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is up 30 percent since before the industrial revolution, and the levels of methane have more than doubled.

Perhaps most important, there is more water in the atmosphere.

As polar ice cups have melted, the sea level has rien four to eight inches, increasing worldwide rainfall by 1 percent.

This may spark a vicious cycle.

More water in the atmosphere means more heat trapped at the surface.

As the surface becomes hotter, the ice cups will melt faster, leading to more water in the oceans and still more water vapor in the atmosphere, in turn causing the surface to become hotter and the ice cups to melt faster, and so on.