Greenhouse gas

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Greenhouse gases reflect heat from the Earth and stop it being lost into space. This causes the Earth to heat up very slowly. The name for this is the greenhouse effect. Scientists think that because so much greenhouse gas is produced by cars, factories and power stations, the world is slowly becoming hotter. They call this "global warming", because it could affect everybody on the planet.

It is important to remember that most greenhouse gases are natural - water vapour is the most common one, and ozone is very common in the upper atmosphere. Even so, as humans create more and more industry, they produce carbon dioxide which is also a greenhouse gas. It is also important to remember that natural greenhouse gases are not bad. Without it, the earth would be 15 to 30 degrees Celcius colder, and vegetation would not grow. It is possible that many people will die because of the cold weather and lack of vegetation growth.

Greenhouse gases are increasing, and it is predicted that the glaciers will melt around 2050.

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