Discuss the causes of Global Warming

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Discuss the causes of Global Warming

Ideally, the earth is constantly kept at an ideal temperature to sustain life of around 16?C (60?F). The earth is heated by the sun's rays in the form of visible short-wave light, the majority of these rays pass from the sun, virtually unstopped through the thermal 'blanket' of the earth's atmosphere, and heat the surface of the earth. This energy, after the earth has absorbed it, is transferred back into space as long-wave infrared energy. The 'natural greenhouse effect' is the accepted warming up of the earth that is explained by the presence of naturally occurring greenhouse gases, and has been observed on other planets (Houghton, J 1994). Global warming, however, has been and continues to be a major concern for the planet. It is the process by which the earth's surface is gradually increasing in temperature because of a variety of factors but primarily because of human activity, either by creating new sources of greenhouse gases or by obstructing natural sinks that eliminate them.

Global warming is generally considered to be to be occurring because as this energy is radiated back into space the increased thermal blanket of greenhouse gases