our climate is changing and temperatures
in general are increasing on the planet
sea levels are rising and the ice is
melting at the North and South Poles one
reason for this is the greenhouse effect
but what is the greenhouse effect a
greenhouse is normally something useful
it helps us grow things like tomatoes
out of season that's because it's nice
and warm inside a greenhouse the
sunlight enters and visible light
penetrates the glass this is partly
absorbed by the plants in the soil and
partly reflected on the outside has
invisible heat radiation as a result
temperatures rise inside the greenhouse
the planet Earth obtains warmth in a
similar fashion which is fortunate
because otherwise we could not survive
without the natural greenhouse effect
temperatures on our planet would be
around minus 18 degrees Celsius and not
the average 15 degrees Celsius above
freezing sunlight penetrates the gas
layer of the atmosphere it's partly
absorbed and partly reflected just like
in a greenhouse small particles in the
air ensure that a percentage of the
reflected radiation is sent back to
earth however humans caused a lot of
pollution by producing large amounts of
carbon dioxide methane and nitrous oxide
the small particles increase in number
and the result is just like a greenhouse
where the glass is too thick so an
increased amount of radiation is sent
back to earth and the heat is unable to
escape causing temperatures to rise
constantly on our planet