What is the greenhouse effect?
The greenhouse effect is a warming near the Earth’s surface that results when the Earth’s atmosphere traps the sun’s heat. The atmosphere acts very much like the glass enclosure of a greenhouse. This effect was described by John Tyndall in 1861, though a similar notion had been mentioned by French mathematician Jean Fourier a cen tury earlier. Without the natural greenhouse effect in which certain atmospheric gases trap heat within the atmosphere, our planet would be covered with ice. It is estimated that Earth would be some 60°F colder than present without the greenhouse effect. The real concern is that too much of a good thing might increase global temperatures beyond the optimal level. The thick blanket of clouds and carbon dioxide smothering the planet Venus produces a runaway greenhouse effect resulting in an average estimated surface temperature of about 600°F.
Carbon dioxide gas is a major contributor to the greenhouse effect. The levels of CO in our atmosphere have varied considerably over geological time. But since the industrial revolution, humans have been dumping vast amounts of CO, into the atmosphere. The question thus was raised, can increases in atmospheric CO levels caused by human activities in some way change global climate and, in particular,
cause an artificial global warming?