Fuels and Earth Science: The Greenhouse Effect

The Greenhouse Effect is a natural process where certain gases in the Earth’s atmosphere trap heat, preventing it from escaping out into space, thus maintaining the Earth’s overall temperature.
This process is vital for life on Earth because it maintains the planet’s temperature at a level suitable for human, animal, and plant life.
The main gases responsible for the Greenhouse Effect are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and water vapour (H2O).
Energy from the Sun arrives as short-wave radiation. Much of this energy is absorbed by the Earth’s surface and warms it.
Some of the energy is absorbed by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere while some is reflected back out into space.
The absorbed energy is then emitted from the Earth as long-wave radiation. But long-wave radiation is absorbed by greenhouse gases, which then re-emit the energy in all directions, including back towards Earth.
This absorption, re-emission, and scattering warms up the Earth’s surface and lower atmosphere.
Human activities have been adding to the concentration of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These activities include burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas.
This addition of greenhouse gases exacerbates the greenhouse effect, leading to an overall increase in the Earth’s temperature, a phenomenon known as global warming.
The increased temperature disrupts weather patterns and causes changes in climatic conditions worldwide, resulting in more extreme weather events.
Ways to reduce the contribution to the Greenhouse Effect by humans include using renewable sources of energy instead of burning fossil fuels. These include solar, wind, geothermal or nuclear energy.
Another strategy is improving energy efficiency, so less energy is wasted and needs to be produced. This includes things like insulating homes and using energy-saving light bulbs.
Planting trees can help to remove some of the excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, since trees absorb carbon dioxide for photosynthesis.