Disclaimer! This book is meant for older kids who want an elaboration on the greenhouse effect. It will use more complicated language and introduce more difficult concepts.

Vocab

Atmosphere: A layer of gas surrounding the earth

Condensation: The change of phase that occurs when a liquid is turned into a gas

Subatomic particles(as it is used in this book): The building blocks of the atom itself

Energy: Capacity for work

The Greenhouse Effect

The greenhouse effect is appropriately named, and why is that?

Well, have you ever been to a greenhouse? It's quite warm, isn't it?

This is because the glass around the greenhouse lets the light(and heat) through, but then when the earth's surface reflects it back, catches it and sends it back again! 

We live in similar conditions, except our glass is called the atmosphere, and right now, it's keeping too much.

THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT-Pg.1

1

You see, our atmosphere is a film of gases, such as methane(CH4), carbon dioxide(CO2), and others.

When the sun's rays hit the surface of the earth, they are reflected out into space! But here's the catch: our atmosphere, these gases, catch some of that light we send out and reflect it to us again!

This is good, because we do need warmth, or the world would be ice cold and unlivable!

Recently(as in the years since the industrial revolution), we have been releasing inordinate amounts of these gases!

THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT-Pg2

So, what's the problem?

The problem is that as we have kept adding these gases to the atmosphere, it has managed to retain increasing amounts of heat, thus heating our earth. Can you think of a few problems with that?

Glaciers melting, forest fires, endangering animals, floods, all sorts of things!

THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT-Pg3

WHERE ARE ALL THESE GASES COMING FROM?

Everywhere, really.

When you use your phone, turn on the light, eat lunch, get on the bus, open the fridge, make yourself a cuppa, order pizza, plug in your computer, and even cow farming...

Well, kind of. I don't mean to say that there's an invisible gas flowing out of your phone when you open it, but it's there, lurking in the background all the time.

Think about it. Those oranges from South Africa had to get here somehow, and that somehow releases greenhouse gases. They're driven here, which releases CO2, NOx, CO, CH4, and more dangerous gases.

Where are all these gases coming from?-Pg4

But what about that phone example you gave me?

Introducing...fossil fuels!

Ever wonder where electricity comes from? Well, if you remember the conservation of energy principle, it's converted!

It can be converted in several ways, but we'll divide them into two categories.

Renewable energy sources, and non-renewable energy sources.

Where are all these gases coming from?-Pg5

Non-renewable energy sources: Fossil Fuels

Fossil fuels are, as the name might suggest, fuels made from fossils. Coal,  found deep in the ground; oil, extracted from the depths of the earth; and natural gas (as well as nuclear energy).

These fuels are bad for a couple of reasons. One, they are finite. We will eventually have used them up. And two, they release greenhouse gases. Not good at all.

Most of these fuels work by using a chemical reaction called combustion, which is what happens when you burn something. This reaction's formula goes (some molecule)+O2=>CO2+H20( when balanced, (if our molecule is methane(main gas in natural gas), let's say)  it goes CH4+2O2=>CO2+2H2O), along with a release of energy.

Where are all these gases coming from?-Pg6

A little bit of background:

I seem to remember having written down 'since the industrial revolution' somewhere. I won't go through all the details, but markets were in a state that encouraged innovation, and the use of fossil fuels to 'produce' electricity was discovered and normalised.

This, in turn, led to a period of instability (read up on it, it's interesting), and the long-term usage of coal, which then led to our climate crisis today.

Background-Pg7

So what are our options?

Renewable energy sources:

'Renewable energy sources' refers to sources that are infinite and thus will never be depleted.

Most of them work by transforming kinetic energy into electrical energy using magnets, alternating currents, and generators, though there are more methods, such as transforming heat into electrical energy and by combustion of waste(done properly).

Here are the main six  types of renewables:

So what are our options?-Pg7