Home » GreenHouse Effect: What is it ? What Causes it?

Greenhouse gases and global warming are not a new topic but are ones that been receiving more and more attention lately. This is due to the rising concern over the increased amount of global warming occurring due to excessive greenhouse gasses. Greenhouse gases are gaseous components of that atmosphere that contribute to the greenhouse effect. Greenhouse gasses naturally cover the earth keeping it at roughly 33 degrees Celsius warmer than it would be without those gasses (greenhouse effect) (Cohen, Hopwood). The temperature of the earth has slowly been rising this is because of the rising level of gases that are being released into the atmosphere.

    The reason for the name “greenhouse effect" is simple it follows all the same basic principals that a normal glass greenhouse employs. The process is rather simple really. One can think of the glass panes of the greenhouse as the protective layer of greenhouse gasses we have in our atmosphere. Short wave radiation from our sun passes through these layers and continues to the earths surface where it turn it is absorbed the earth causing it to warm. However not all of the energy is fully absorbed into the earth, part of it is radiated back to the atmosphere but now as long wave radiation. Long wave radiation rarely passes through the greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere. The absorbed waves that are not allowed to travel back into space are then reemitted back downward causing the lower atmosphere to warm, hence the problem of excessive amounts of greenhouse gasses enwrapping earths surface. Theses long wave gasses once again go through the same process of being sent down to earth heated, being absorbed and some of then getting trapped again in this very cycle. The idea that causes most concern to us the increasing amount of greenhouse gases we as humans with our machines are emitting into our atmosphere. The more gasses we release the less long wave radiation will be allowed to travel back into space, hence a gradual heating of the earths climate over a given amount of time.

    Understanding the concept of greenhouse gasses and their processes is the first step we must take in order to help combat our problem of global warming. We as a uman race need to step up and take initiative to prevent this problem from getting out of hand. By reducing the amount of greenhouse gasses we put into our atmosphere we can help cut down on the amount of long wave radiation that is retransmitted back to the earth.