Greenhouse gases are gases that get trapped in our atmosphere due to the compact arrangement of molecules that absorb the Sun’s harmful rays and traps the heat in. These molecules are “flexible” therefore they are able to absorb the Sun’s rays, unlike Nitrogen and Oxygen, which are too symmetrical and are NOT flexible. The molecules that do all the absorbing are Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Water Vapor, and Nitrous Oxide.
However, as we, (Humans) keep releasing these gases, we are “thickening” our atmosphere making it easy for heat to get in, but almost impossible to be released. Currently, the largest contribution of greenhouse gases is the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil, which release Carbon Dioxide; a major molecule released in our atmosphere. Another contributing factor is aerosols and cloudiness. All of this began at the start of the Industrial Revolution Era. Now, 200 years later, the amount of these gases have risen to an extraordinary level in which we call global warming.
We as a whole population have grown so reliant on fossil fuels and other factors, but we aren’t taking notice of what we are doing to the Earth as a whole, thus causing a risk for everyone on this planet. Why? Global warming has been proved to have caused some of the greatest natural disasters ever spoken of. NASA predicted that by 2080, sea levels would have gone from 0 to 0.8m. This being the outcome of our remaining glaciers melting.
“How Do Human Activities Contribute to Climate Change and How Do They Compare with Natural Influences?” European Environment Agency, 17 June 2017, www.eea.europa.eu/themes/climate/faq/how-do-human-activities-contribute-to-climate-change-and-how-do-they-compare-with-natural-influences.
“The Rising Cost of Natural Hazards : Feature Articles.” NASA, NASA, earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/RisingCost/rising_cost5.php.
minuteearth. “How Do Greenhouse Gases Actually Work?” YouTube, YouTube, 26 May 2015, www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTvqIijqvTg.
