Sharpen Mind: Greenhouse Effect

Posted by Jerry Lopper Dec 22, 2006

We tend to think of The Greenhouse Effect as something harmful, the unnatural increase in carbon dioxide in our atmosphere that is contributing to global warming. But there's also a very natural and beneficial phenomenon termed the greenhouse effect. Without this effect, the earth would not support life.

When energy from the sun reaches the earth's surface, some is absorbed and some is reflected back into space. Water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and other gases--known collectively as greenhouse gases--trap some of the outgoing energy, like the glass of a greenhouse.

Without this effect, the earth would be too cold to support life. Instead, the earth's surface is maintained at a hospitable 60 degrees F.

Source: The Intellectual Devotional, David S. Kidder & Noah D. Oppenheim