How is it that while our population here on Earth keeps growing and a lot of commotion is going about, other planets are seemingly quiet with no signs of life? So far, we have yet to discover another planet much like ours. Other planets are either scorching hot or freezing cold due to their general makeup and proximity to the sun.
Earth, on the other hand, sits at a comfortable distance from the sun, and it has unique mechanism or process that makes its surface temperature relatively stable and conducive to life- the greenhouse effect. But how is greenhouse effect a good thing when it is causing global warming?
In actuality, warming the planet is why it is helpful. Without the it, Earth will just be another bitterly cold lifeless planet. However, the Greenhous Effect is pretty much getting a bad rep due to the current global warming trend that is causing havoc and alarm in various parts of the globe. But in reality it is with this process that lifeforms exist on Earth.
Solar radiation is a double-edged sword in that it promotes life and at the same time, it can take away life. Living organisms need the suns radiation one way or another, whether directly or indirectly, to survive and proliferate. But large amounts of direct solar radiation is lethal. And this is where greenhouse effect comes in the hero.
Approximately 30 percent of incoming solar radiation that hits the Earth bounces off reflective surfaces like ice, snow, sand, and clouds back to space. The remaining 70 percent is absorbed by the oceans, the land, the atmosphere, plants and other things. A portion of the absorbed energy on the Earth’s surface is eventually released otherwise, the planet would be a boiling casserole. In a nutshell, the Greenhouse Effect is the balancing act between the Earth’s surface and atmosphere in absorbing and radiating the sun’s energy, resulting to a habitable environment.