What is the major cause of the greenhouse effect?(1 point)
Responses
soot from coal plants in the water
soot from coal plants in the water
soot from coal plants in the atmosphere
soot from coal plants in the atmosphere
carbon dioxide in the water
carbon dioxide in the water
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
The major cause of the greenhouse effect is carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. To understand why carbon dioxide is the main cause, we need to understand what the greenhouse effect is.
The greenhouse effect is a natural process that helps to regulate the Earth's temperature. It works like this: when sunlight reaches the Earth's surface, some of it is reflected back into space and some is absorbed by the Earth's surface. The absorbed sunlight is then re-emitted as heat energy. This heat radiation would normally escape into space, but certain gases in the Earth's atmosphere, including carbon dioxide, act like a blanket and trap some of the heat. This trapped heat warms up the Earth, making it livable for plants, animals, and humans.
However, human activities such as burning fossil fuels (like coal, oil, and natural gas) for energy and transportation release large amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This additional carbon dioxide enhances the greenhouse effect, trapping more heat in the atmosphere. This is often referred to as anthropogenic (human-caused) global warming. The increased greenhouse effect leads to global climate change and the rise in global temperatures, which can have significant and detrimental effects on the environment, ecosystems, and human societies.
Therefore, the correct answer is "carbon dioxide in the atmosphere."