Greenhouse Effect

Greenhouse Effect

The greenhouse effect is the heating effect caused by gases in the atmosphere trapping heat (radiation) from the Earth's surface. The atmosphere acts like a greenhouse window, insulating the Earth.
Growth in industry, agriculture, and transportation since the Industrial Revolution has produced additional quantities of the natural greenhouse gases as well as others, increasing the thermal blanket. This increase in the quantity of greenhouse gases is trapping more heat and increasing global temperatures, making a process that has been beneficial to life potentially disruptive and harmful. During the past century, the atmospheric temperature has risen 1.1°F (0.6°C), and sea level has risen several inches. [VH] {WC} {EP}