GREENHOUSE

GASES
By: Anonymous
Heat from the sun shines
onto the Earth.

It passes through a
blanket of gases in
our atmosphere.
Some of the heat
energy is reflected
back into space.

Some of the heat energy

is absorbed by the
blanket of gases.
The ‘greenhouse’ gases are
essential to life on Earth. Without
them heat energy would escape
back into space.

Earth would be a
very chilly place
with an average
temperature of
-18°C !
The greenhouse gases help to keep
the temperature of the earth in
balance. This process is called the
GREENHOUSE EFFECT.

The gases work a bit

like glass in a
greenhouse to trap in
warmth.
But the earth is
getting warmer and
warmer.
WHY?
Human activities are creating
more greenhouse gases
including carbon dioxide, CO2.

As we burn more
fossil fuels, for
example, the
blanket of
greenhouse gases
becomes thicker.
More greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere mean that more
heat energy is absorbed.

We call this increase

in the temperature
of the earth
‘global warming’.
R. A. Rohde (www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Carbon_Dioxide_Gallery)
What do you deduce from this
graph?
“Human activities over the last 100 years,
particularly the burning of fossil fuels, have
caused a rapid increase in carbon dioxide
and other greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere. Before the industrial age, these
gases had remained at near stable
concentrations for thousands of years.....
The rapid warming observed since the
1970s has occurred in a period when the
increase in greenhouse gases has
dominated over all other factors. ”
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change, 2007
“Models and observations show warming in
the lower part of the atmosphere (the
troposphere) and cooling higher up in the
stratosphere....

If an increase in solar output had been

responsible for the recent climate warming,
both the troposphere and the stratosphere
wouldconsiderations
Such have warmed...increase confidence
that human rather than natural factors were
the dominant cause of the global warming
observed over the last 50 years.”
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Climate Change, 2007
Eleven of the last twelve years have been
the hottest since records started in 1858.

Think about ways that you could reduce

your carbon footprint and be part of the
climate-change solution!
As students, how can you
help to reduce the
Greenhouse Gases and
the Greenhouse Effect?
Ten Ways to Reduce Greenhouse Gases
•Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
•Use Less Heat and Air
Conditioning
•Replace Your Light Bulbs
•Drive Less and Drive Smart
•Buy Energy-Efficient Products
• Use Less Hot Water
• Use the "Off" Switch
• Plant a Tree
• Get a Report Card from Your
Utility Company
• Encourage Others to
Conserve
 Sources
•Adapted from a resource
produced by CAFOD
•From The Cathloic Agency for
International Aid and
Development
THANK YOU