• Our planet’s atmosphere traps heat much like a garden greenhouse does.
• Sunlight enters the greenhouse (atmosphere) and warms the soil, plants, and ocean (earth).
• About 30 percent of the sun’s energy is reflected back into space. But the remainder is absorbed by “greenhouse gases” in the atmosphere and earth’s surface, where it helps warm the planet.
• The earth radiates heat back to the atmosphere, where it is absorbed by “greenhouse gases” such as carbon dioxide and methane. This further warms the earth.
• But some of the energy is emitted back into space. This prevents the planet from overheating.
• This “greenhouse effect” is a natural phenomenon that makes our planet warm enough to be livable.
• Without it, our planet would be 60 degrees Fahrenheit colder than it is today.