global warming?

Question

im not quite sure what the term global warming and greenhouse effect have in realation to each other could someone plz healp me im a bit dumb lol

Answer 1

The earth's atmosphere acts somewhat like a greenhouse in that it allows heat in but prevents some of it escaping. More accurately, it allows heat from the sun (solar radiation) in but because the wavelength of heat from the earth (thermal radiation) is longer it can't pass unimpeded through the atoms and molecules that make up the atmosphere and some of it is retained.

Some gases 'trap' the heat that's reflected from Earth and these are known as the greenhouse gases or GHG's. Carbon dioxide is perhaps the most obvious one but there are three other's that contribute an appreciable amount to global warming - methane, nitrous oxide and something called dochlorodiflouromethane (one of the CFC's). There are many, many others but their contribution is tiny. Water vapour is a naturally occuring greenhouse gas but it has no effect on the recent warming because levels can not be increased beyond a physical maximum - water vapour has always been in the atmosphere and when there's too much of it it falls back to earth as rain. The manmade greenhouse gases stay in the atmosphere anywhere between 4 years and forever, carbon dioxide has an atmospheric lifetime of about 100 years.

In essence, when people talk about global warming they're referring to the warming of the earth due to an increase in the amounts of greenhouse gases. It's important not to confuse global warming with weather - GW is a long term and worldwide trend whereas weather is short term and localised.

It's also important to distinguish between the two types of GW - natural which has always occured and is occuring now and manmade (called anthropogenic global warming or AGW). Manmade GW is a recent problem that has come about due to the substantial amounts of fossil fuels that are being burned (they produce carbon dioxide) and agricultural practices which produce methane and nitrous oxide. There are many other contributing factors but these are the main ones.

What's causing concern at the moment is the very rapid rises in temperatures, they're rising now much faster than has ever been known and also the high levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Since humans first appeared on the planet the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has varied between 190 and 300 units (parts per million by volume or ppmv) but in recent years it's risen to 385 units and is still rising. The last time the temperature was as warm as it is now was 140,000 years ago.

Answer 2

Greenhouse Effect:
The hear from the sun is trapped under the troposphere, the lower most layer of the atmosphere where the greenhouse gases are. These greenhouse gases let infrared rays from the sun pass through but as the bounce back the surface of the earth, some get trapped under the greenhouse gases and is bounced back to earth causing a temperature increase.

Global Warming:
Although the greenhouse effect can cause the temperature to increase globally and is in fact essential to have the greenhouse effect so we can live and not die freezing, but the trend of constant increase in temperature over the past century seems not be caused by the greenhouse effect as many has thought it to be.

Answer 3

Global Warming - The progressive gradual rise of the earth's surface temperature thought to be caused by the greenhouse effect and responsible for changes in global climate patterns. An increase in the near surface temperature of the Earth. Global warming has occurred in the distant past as the result of natural influences, but the term is most often used to refer to the warming predicted to occur as a result of increased emissions of greenhouse gases.

Greenhouse Effect - When CO2 ( Carborn Dioxcide ) is released into the atmosphere creating like a quilt covering the Earth. Greenhouse gases allow the sun's heat to come in but it stops it from excapeing meaning the "quilt" it becomming thicker therefore makeing the Earth hotter.

What causes Greenhouse gases? - Simple things like the fumes from cars and logging is a big thing - When a tree is cut down it can no longer remove the CO2 from the atmostphere but it creats its own. The fossil fuels and all this is all conected to greenhouse gases therefore makeing global warming worse.

Lol hope you can understand my wired way of explaining it!
God Bless!

Answer 4

GLOBAL WARMING was a term given to the cencept in the 1970's when climate change was first regarded as a threat. Since then, we have re-named it to Climate instability. This can be observed, even just today, with the rapid and severe heating and cooling trends that seem to be ruining our agriculture this last year. In 2005, our hurricanes came more often, and with more energy because of the instability of our environment.
The Greenhouse effect is where certain naturally-occuring gasses have altered the composition of our atmosphere in such a way that excessive heat from the sun cannot radiate into space.Instead, it is locked in by these gasses, including carbon dioxide, methane, and many others, and the earth is not allowed to cool.

The two relate in that the greenhouse effect is contributing significantly to the increasing instability of our global climate by locking in heat. When the heat is not permitted to exit into space, aspects of our earth adapt to the hotter atmosphere, and so everything goes all screwy--

Answer 5

The greenhouse effect is something like throwing a blanket over yourself. It keeps heat in. There's a lot of conflicting and incorrect opinions about global warming. For example Trevor's answer says that the earth hasn't been this warm for 140,000 years. That's just not true. The earth was actually warmer than now in the Middle Ages.

Answer 6

not positive.. but i think greenhouse effect is when certain gases that are more prone to absorbing heat from the sun and that give off infrared radiation build up in the atmosphere.. thus causing global warming.. wiki link if you feel like reading it

Answer 7

first of all ,your not dumb. not everyone cares to learn.its the effects of the sun is doing to our earth