Greenhouse effect

The greenhouse effect is the natural process by which the atmosphere traps some of the
Sun's energy, warming the Earth enough to support life.

Most mainstream scientists believe a human-driven increase in "greenhouse gases" is

increasing the effect artificially.

These gases include carbon dioxide, emitted by fossil fuel burning and deforestation, and
methane, released from rice paddies and landfill sites

This ability to absorb and re-emit infrared energy is what makes CO 2 an effective heat-
trapping greenhouse gas. Not all gas molecules are able to absorb IR radiation. For
example, nitrogen (N2) and oxygen (O2), which make up more than 90% of Earth's
atmosphere, do not absorb infrared photons. CO2 molecules can vibrate in ways that
simpler nitrogen and oxygen molecules cannot, which allows CO 2 molecules to capture
the IR photons.

Most of the sun's energy that falls on the Earth's surface is in the visible light portion of the
electromagnetic spectrum. This is in large part because the Earth's atmosphere is transparent to these
wavelengths (we all know that with a functioning ozone layer, the higher frequencies like ultraviolet are
mostly screened out). Part of the sunlight is reflected back into space, depending on the albedo or
reflectivity of the surface. Part of the sunlight is absorbed by the Earth and held as thermal energy. This
heat is then re-radiated in the form of longer wavelength infrared radiation. While the dominant gases of
the atmosphere (nitrogen and oxygen) are transparent to infrared, the so-called greenhouse gasses,
primarily water vapor (H2O), CO2, and methane (CH4), absorb some of the infrared radiation. They
collect this heat energy and hold it in the atmosphere, delaying its passage back out of the atmosphere

Global Warming is the increase of Earth's average surface temperature due

to effect of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide emissions from
burning fossil fuels or from deforestation, which trap heat that would
otherwise escape from Earth. This is a type of greenhouse effect.
photochemical smog is a mixture of pollutants that form when nitrogen oxides and volatile
organic compounds react to sunlight, creating a haze that is common over cities. The two
major primary pollutants, nitrogen oxides and VOCs, combine in a series of chemical
reactions to create secondary pollutants, which are dangerous when detected in our
atmosphere and at ground level. The two most dominant toxic components produced in
photochemical smog are ozone and peroxyacetyl nitrate. While ozone can be produced
naturally in an unpolluted environment, the interaction with VOCs prevents nitrogen oxide --
after being transformed to nitrogen dioxide -- from consuming ozone. This leads to toxic,
harmful levels of ozone in the immediate environment.