Greenhouse Effect

The greenhouse effect is a process that occurs when energy from a planet's host star goes through its atmosphere and heats the planet's surface, but greenhouse gases in the atmosphere prevent some of the heat from returning directly to space, resulting in a warmer planet. Earth's natural greenhouse effect keeps the planet from having the below freezing temperature that it would have if there were no greenhouse gases. Additionally, human-caused increases in greenhouse gases trap greater amounts of heat, causing... more