Causes of Climate Change

You may have heard of something that is referred to as "the greenhouse effect." The greenhouse effect is a natural process that helps the Earth warm its surface and atmosphere. According to Pidwirny (2008), the greenhouse effect occurs when greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons [CFC's], and ozone) as well as water vapor absorb longwave, or infrared, radiation which is emitted from the Earth's surface.
The greenhouse effect is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, without it, life on Earth would probably not exist. Without the greenhouse effect, the temperature on Earth would average -18 degrees Celsius which is approximately -0.4 degrees Fahrenheit! Brrrr! The average temperature of the Earth currently is 15 degrees Celsius or 59 degrees Fahrenheit (Pidwirny, 2008).So, if the greenhouse effect is actually beneficial, how did it get such a bad reputation?
Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have increased since the Industrial Revolution. Scientists predict that this increase will cause the greenhouse effect to be enhanced which will lead to the temperature on Earth to become warmer (Pidwirny, 2008). Pidwirny (2008) also pointed out that a doubling of the concentration of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide could cause an increase in temperature of 1-3 degrees Celsius (33.8-37.4 degrees Fahrenheit). This may not seem like much but even a small amount of warming could be devastating to the Earth.
The increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is due primarily to human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation (Spaulding & Namowitz, 2005). Read more about this in the post "Human Impact & Climate Change."
Watch this video from the Environmental Protection Agency (2006) which shows how the greenhouse effect probably contributes to global warming. **This video is from the EPA Kids' website so it is suitable for all ages.**

References:
Environmental Protection Agency (2006). The global warming movie. Retrieved April 20, 2008 from http://epa.gov/climatechange/kids/global_warming_version2.html

Pidwirny, M. PhD. (2008). Fundamentals of physical geography (2nd edition eBook). Retrieved April 20, 2008 from
http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/contents.html

Spaulding, N.E. & Namowitz, S.N. (2005). Earth science. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell.