The Greenhouse Effect

The greenhouse effect is a natural process that warms the Earth's surface. When the Sun's energy reaches the Earth's atmosphere, some of it is reflected back to space and the rest is absorbed and re-radiated by greenhouse gases.  The absorbed energy warms the atmosphere and the surface of the Earth.The process is called the greenhouse effect because the exchange of incoming and outgoing radiation that warms the planet works in a similar way to a greenhouse.

The Greenhouse effect is when the temperature rises because the sun's heat and light is trapped in the earth's atmosphere. This is like when heat is trapped in a car. On a very hot day, the car gets hotter when it is out in the parking lot. This is because the heat and light from the sun can get into the car, by going through the windows, but it can't get back. This is what the greenhouse effect does to the earth. The heat and light can get through the atmosphere, but it can't get out. As a result, the temperature rises.

The greenhouse effect makes the earth appropriate for people to live on. Without it the earth would be freezing or on the other hand, it would be burning hot. It would be freezing at night because the sun would be down. During the day, especially during the summer, it would be burning because the sun would be exposed to all the light and heat.

Although the greenhouse effect makes the earth able to have people living on it, if there get s  to be too many gases, the earth can get unusually warmer, and many plants, animals, and people will die. Plants like corn, wheat, and other vegetables and fruits would not be able to take the heat. This would cause us to have less food to eat, but it would also limit the food that animals have. With less food, like grass, for the animals that we need to survive (like cows), we would even have less food. Gradually, people, plants, and animals would all die of hunger.