Earths Atmosphere in Balance
How has the atmosphere worked before the burning of fossil fuels? Well there has been global warming for a long time. Actually with out global warming the earth would be too cold and life as we know it probably would not exist.
So how does it all work? Well there is an Ozone layer in the stratosphere that helps reflect back some radiation from the sun. The radiation that does enter the atmosphere is either absorbed by the earth the rest is reflected back out into the atmosphere. There are gases in the atmosphere (this is before chemical use or burning of fossil fuels). Gases such as CO2, Methane, water and others. These gases absorb radiation within certain wavelengths. These gases then either emit the radiation out toward space or back towards earth. It is the reflection of radiation back towards earth that helps warm the earth. This is what makes the earth warm enough to make life pleasant for us.
There are parts of the radiation spectrum that would just be reflected back out into space without being absorbed. With the burning of fossil fuels and other gases this “window” that would allow some radiation escape out into space is now being closed. What does that mean? It means that some radiation is now being absorbed in those wavelengths and being reflected back into the atmosphere.
There are also more of the gases that absorb radiation and thus causing more radiation to be reflected back towards the earth. How do we know scientifically that this is really going on? Yes, we can say that we are burning more fossil fuels and releasing more “green house gases” but there are sinks. The ocean takes CO2 out of the atmosphere.
Scientist have been studying the atmosphere from the past. See ice cores and the atmosphere 800,000 years ago. From these studies we see what the average has been for the past 800,000 years. Since the industrial revolution there has been an increase in these levels and a warming of the atmosphere.
nature photography with a purpose by Melinda Sargent