GREEN HOUSE

EFFECT: ARTIFICIAL
OR NATURAL
Anay Kaul, Science M.A Activity 
What Is this
Green House
Effect
Th e tra ppi ng of t he su n' s
wa rm t h i n a pla ne t' s lower
a t m os phe re , du e to t he
g re at er tra ns pa ren c y of th e
a t m os phe re t o v is ib le
radi at ion fr om th e sun t ha n to
i nf rar ed rad ia ti on e m it te d
f rom the pl a ne t's s ur fa ce .
 Natural Causes Of
Green House Effect
S om e a m ou n t o f cl i m a t e c h a n g e c a n b e a t t r i b u t e d t o n a t u r a l
p h e n o m e n a . O v e r th e co u rs e of E a r t h’s e x i s t e n c e ,  
vo l c a n i c e r u p t i o n s, fl u c tu a t i o n s i n   s o l a r r a d i a t i o n,   t e c t on i c s h i f t s
, a n d e ve n s m a l l   c h a n g e s i n o u r o r b i t  h ave a l l h a d o b s e r va b l e
e ff e c t s o n p l a n e t a r y wa rm i n g a n d c o o l i n g p a t t e r n s .

B u t c l i m a t e r e c o r d s a r e a b l e t o s h o w t h a t t o d ay ’s g l o b a l
wa r m i n g — p a r t i cu l a r l y w h a t h a s o c c u r r e d s i n c e t h e s t a r t o f t h e
i n d u s t r i a l r e vo l u t i o n — i s h a p p e n i n g m u c h , m u c h f a s t e r t h a n e ve r
b e f or e . A c c o r d i n g to   N A S A, “ t h e s e n a t u ra l c a u s e s a r e s t i l l i n
p l ay t o d ay, b u t th e i r i n fl u e n c e i s t o o s m a l l or t h e y o c c u r t o o
s l ow l y t o e x p l a i n t h e ra p i d wa r m i n g s e e n i n r e c e n t d e c a d e s .”
A n d t h e r e c o r d s re f u t e t h e   m i s i n f o r m a t i o n  t h a t n a t u ra l c a u s e s
a r e t h e m a i n c u l p ri t s b e h i n d c l i m a t e c h a n g e , a s s o m e i n t h e
f os s i l f u e l i n d u s t r y a n d co n s e r va t i v e t h i n k t a n ks w o u l d l i ke u s t o
b e l i e ve .
Human Causes Of
Green House Effect
Scientists agree that human activity is the primar y
driver of what we’re seeing now worldwide. (This
type of climate change is sometimes referred to
as anthropogenic , which is just a way of saying
“caused by human beings.”) The unchecked
burning of fossil f uels over the past 150 years has
drastically increased the presence of atmospheric
greenhouse gases, most notably  carbon dioxide. At
the same time, logging and development have led
to the widespread destruction of forests,
wetlands, and other  carbon sinks—natural
resources that store carbon dioxide and prevent it
from being released into the atmosphere.
Thank You
Current Conditions 
Scientists agree that human activity is the primar y
driver of what we’re seeing now worldwide. (This
type of climate change is sometimes referred to
as anthropogenic , which is just a way of saying
“caused by human beings.”) The unchecked
burning of fossil fuels over the past 150 years has
drastically increased the presence of atmospheric
greenhouse gases, most notably  carbon dioxide. At
the same time, logging and development have led
to the widespread destruction of forests, wetlands,
and other  carbon sinks—natural resources that
store carbon dioxide and prevent it from being
released into the atmosphere.