Answer:
Greenhouse gases, including water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane, form a small percentage of the overall atmosphere, yet they play an important role, trapping the heat required for life on Earth. However, too much of a good thing can have a negative impact.
Explanation:
Much of the discussion about global warming centers around a phenomenon known as the greenhouse effect. Every day, the sun's rays enter the atmosphere, where their energy is absorbed by plants and in the Earth's surface and oceans, creating the conditions required for life on our world. At the same time, some energy from the sun is reflected back into space. However, just like the glass panes that trap heat and moisture within a greenhouse, our atmosphere contains carbon dioxide, methane, and other gases that prevent that energy from exiting back into space, resulting in a rise in temperature of the Earth.
Many different gases make up the Earth's atmosphere, the most abundant being nitrogen, oxygen, and argon. Greenhouse gases, including water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane, form a small percentage of the overall atmosphere, yet they play an important role, trapping the heat required for life on Earth. However, too much of a good thing can have a negative impact.
In recent years, greenhouse gases have become strongly associated with global warming and the negative consequences of an overheating planet. But like all things in nature, greenhouse gases serve an important purpose. Without them, the Earth's temperature would be about zero degrees, instead of our current 57°F, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
