Most supporters of the many alternative energy options available today talk about the greenhouse effect. Cutting down on our use of oil, coal, and natural gas will significantly reduce the greenhouse effect that is a daily part of our lives. However, if you don't understand this terminology, you probably will not understand the serious consequences of the greenhouse effect or why it is important to pursue alternative energy options. By learning about the greenhouse effect, you can see that not only will the earth's supply of fossil fuels run out within the next few hundred years, but the state of the earth's atmosphere and weather conditions will be drastically changed by this time, for the worse.

The greenhouse effect is a relatively easy process to understand. It all begins with solar energy, which reaches the earth in rays of light, most of which are visible. These rays of light heat the earth's surface, as you can clearly tell on a sunny day. The earth reflects this heat energy back into space at almost an equal rate from which it is received, and the process starts all over again, as more sunrays reach the earth the next day.

However, a layer of gasses surrounds the earth. This is known as the atmosphere. Some of the gasses in the atmosphere trap the heat energy as it exits back into space and re-reflects it back to the earth's surface. Over time, this rate of reflection remains constant, so our overall weather and climate patterns do not change. The three gasses in the atmosphere that trap this energy from the sun are water, carbon dioxide, and methane.

When fossil fuels are burned, such as at power plants or when you drive your car, the result of the chemical reaction used to create power is carbon dioxide. This carbon dioxide is released into the air, causing smog, which accounts for the haziness you see around larger cities at night. All of the extra carbon dioxide in the air is not only dangerous to breath, but it also means that more of the sun's heat is being captured by the atmosphere and is being once again reflected to the earth. Therefore, the average temperature of the earth is slowly rising, since more and more heat is being trapped in the atmosphere every day. Over time, this is melting the ice caps slowly and raising the ocean level. This will cause climate shifts and different weather patterns over time. Unfortunately, without stopping the use of fossil fuels, we cannot stop the greenhouse effect. By researching alternative forms of energy, such as nuclear, wind, water, and solar power, scientists can find a renewable form of energy that does not cause the greenhouse effect, and perhaps the process can be slowed, creating a healthier earth.