NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The greenhouse effect is a warming of the air around us. It gets its name from the greenhouses that people use to grow plants. These greenhouses let in heat from sunlight and trap it inside. Earth's atmosphere -- the layer of air that surrounds our planet -- also traps heat. This heat warms the land and the air around it.

Image to left: The greenhouse effect is a warming of the air around us. Earth's atmosphere traps heat. This heat warms the land and the air around it. Credit: World Book illustration by Lawrie Taylor

Some of the things people do are increasing the heat being trapped in our atmosphere. For example, people burn coal, oil, and gasoline to make electricity and power their cars. When these fuels burn, they release a gas called carbon dioxide. Scientists think this gas makes the atmosphere trap more heat.

If the atmosphere traps too much heat, it may slowly grow warmer and warmer. Scientists call this global warming, and it could change our weather. Some areas could get warmer and others could get cooler than they are now. Ice at the North and South Poles could melt and raise the level of oceans, flooding many coastal areas. Global warming would affect everything that lives on our planet.

How to cite this article: To cite this article, World Book recommends the following format: "Greenhouse effect." The World Book Student Discovery Encyclopedia. Chicago: World Book, Inc., 2005.

‹ Previous       › Next       › Return to Topics

› Back to Top