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You are here: Home / Universe / How Is the Earth Like a Greenhouse?

How Is the Earth Like a Greenhouse?

March 6, 2020 by Karen Hill

A greenhouse gives plants a glass covering which serves two purposes: it conserves the energy they get from the sun and it keeps the air temperature up. The atmosphere surrounding our planet acts the same way.

Only a tiny fraction of the heat and energy produced by the sun ever reaches the earth. And that heat would only be strong enough to keep our earth temperature at 30° below zero Fahrenheit.

Luckily, this heat does not escape into outer space; it is absorbed by the water vapor and gases of our atmosphere. As it bounces back and forth between the earth’s crust and the outer atmosphere, this heat gives off enough energy to keep our planet’s average temperature a healthy 60 degrees F.

Related Facts

  • Why Is a Greenhouse Warm and How Does a Greenhouse Trap Heat?
  • What Causes The Greenhouse Effect?
  • How Is It Possible To Reduce the Greenhouse Effect By Painting Roofs of Buildings White To Reflect Sunlight?
  • How Does the Greenhouse Effect Cause Global Warming?
  • How do birds breathe like mammals or like fish?
  • Will I grow up to be short like my mother or tall like my father?

Filed Under: Universe

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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