Carbon Cycle, Keeling Curve, and Main Causes of Global Warming

What happens to energy that comes off of earth's surface?

Some is directly bounced back into space, and some is absorbed by the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

When the atmosphere traps more heat, this is happening:

There is a rise in the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere

The main greenhouse gases:

Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Water Vapor

Burning fossil fuels, burning coal to produce electricity, Burning forests and buildings causes...

Carbon dioxide release

Water vapor is a powerful greenhouse gas

False - it is a greenhouse gas, but not as powerful as Carbon Dioxide or Methane

Volcanoes contribute significantly to the warming of the planet

False - they do contribute, but most of the Carbon re-distribution comes from humans producing fossil fuels.

The atmosphere and its gases is like a Greenhouse because...

Greenhouse gases trap heat like the walls of a greenhouse.

Keeling Curve

Keeling curve shows the variation in concentration (amount) of CO2 in the atmosphere since 1958.

What gas do cows produce a lot of?

Methane

Recent climate change has been caused by the excessive release of greenhouse gases

True

The amount of Carbon on earth is finite

True

Greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon that is important for making Earth habitable

True - without the greenhouse effect, the earth would be too cold for life to exist.

Keeling Curve

What is the name of this Graph?

Carbon Cycle

the process in which carbon travels from the atmosphere into organisms and the Earth and then back into the atmosphere.