Have you ever wondered why we humans fall for it so often? Falsehoods, that is. Could it be that we find comfort in choosing to remain voluntarily uninformed? Is it because being uninformed offers a convenient way to evade responsibility, accountability, and conscience? Why do we simply accept what we are fed by the malevolent, sometimes even by the so called "experts" whose real motivation is not malevolence but simplification?
Simplifying things for those who lack curiosity, even with good intentions, is fundamentally wrong. The dangers of oversimplification lie in its ability to cater to the incurious and promote a culture of intellectual mediocrity, which is cheaper and requires less "investment" in time and effort. Why do humans reject the fact that "intellectual excellence is expensive?"
Consider the term "greenhouse effect," which is frequently cited as a significant factor in the potential extinction of humanity. However, this term is misleading because the mechanism of a greenhouse is not the same from how the Earth's atmosphere retains heat. Despite this distinction, many have accepted it, allowing malicious individuals and institutions to divert attention from the scientifically sound argument that this figurative "greenhouse effect" poses a real threat to human survival.
You see, in a "greenhouse" (like the kind used for plants), glass walls and roofs physically trap warm air inside. The glass lets sunlight in but prevents the heat from escaping, keeping the inside warm.
On the other hand, in the "Earth's atmosphere," things work differently. Gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor trap heat, but they don't block warm air from escaping like the glass of a greenhouse does. Instead, they let sunlight in, and when the Earth's surface warms up and radiates heat (infrared energy), these gases absorb and re-radiate some of that heat back to the surface. Thus warming our planet.
So, while both processes involve trapping heat, the atmosphere traps heat through radiation, not by preventing the warm air from escaping like a greenhouse does. That's why "greenhouse effect" isn't quite the perfect description. But the term stuck because it's a simple metaphor people understand. Sadly humans keep feeding the lowest intellectual common denominator, a ubiquitous cognitive bias in the field of behavioral psychology called heuristics, that perpetuates mental mediocrity. If this does not scare you, it should. Specially if you are a parent. Why?
We should be concerned because as our planet becomes harder to live on, humanity’s ability to solve complex problems seems to be declining. Climate disasters are getting more complicated, and our systems—like infrastructure, energy, and food supply—are becoming more likely to fail at the same time. In a world with these overlapping crises, people will need to rely on their intelligence and skills to reduce widespread suffering. What’s worrying is that our ability to think and solve these tough problems appears to be shrinking, possibly at an accelerating rate.
As each day passes, the habitability of our planet is becoming increasingly intricate. Given the increasing complexity and the declining intellectual capabilities of humanity, it appears that we are headed towards a future where we will face multiple catastrophic system failures simultaneously, while lacking the necessary advanced knowledge to tackle them effectively. Consequently, the likelihood of widespread zero-sum competition and violent conflicts is a genuine concern.
The process that causes our planet to heat is primarily driven by the trapping of heat, which involves complex interactions between solar radiation, Earth's atmosphere, and the Earth's surface. Here's a step-by-step breakdown of the key processes and reactions:
Solar Radiation: The sun emits energy in the form of "shortwave radiation", primarily visible light, ultraviolet (UV), and some infrared (IR) radiation. When this energy reaches Earth:
- About 30% is reflected back into space by clouds, atmospheric particles, and Earth's surface (like ice and snow).
- The remaining 70% is absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, oceans, and land, warming the planet.
Surface Warming and Re-radiation: Once Earth's surface absorbs solar radiation, it heats up. The warmed surface emits energy in the form of "longwave infrared radiation" (heat) back toward space. However, not all this heat escapes.
Greenhouse Gases and Heat Trapping: Certain gases in Earth's atmosphere, called greenhouse gases, absorb and re-radiate some of the outgoing infrared radiation. These gases include: Carbon dioxide (CO₂), Methane (CH₄) Water vapor (H₂O), Nitrous oxide (N₂O)
and Ozone (O₃). Yes, greenhouse gases are produced by you and me. How? By our consumption practices, which are a major contributor to climate change.
The gases mentioned here retain heat in the atmosphere, leading to a warming effect known as the "greenhouse effect." Surprisingly, without this effect, the Earth's average temperature would be significantly lower (approximately 33°C), rendering our planet uninhabitable. Essentially, our atmosphere is beneficial to us. However it is critical not to overheat it.
Re-radiation and Surface Heating: When greenhouse gases absorb infrared radiation, they re-radiate heat in all directions, including back toward Earth's surface. This process leads to additional warming of the surface and lower atmosphere, further increasing our planet's temperature.
Feedback Loops: There are various "feedback mechanisms" that can amplify or moderate the greenhouse effect:
a) positive feedback: Warming causes more water vapor to enter the atmosphere, and since water vapor is a potent greenhouse gas, this leads to even more warming. Melting ice reduces the planet's reflectivity (called albedo), meaning more heat is absorbed rather than reflected.
b) negative feedback: Increased cloud cover due to higher temperatures can reflect more sunlight, potentially cooling the planet.
Anthropogenic (human-induced) Contributions: Human activities, especially since the Industrial Revolution, have significantly increased the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, especially due to the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas which releases large amounts of CO₂. Deforestation resulting in the reduction of the number of trees that can absorb CO₂. Agriculture involving livestock and rice paddies farming as well as waste management all of which release methane. Industrial activities and fertilizer use increases nitrous oxide levels.
Global Warming and Climate Change: The enhanced greenhouse effect, caused by the increase in greenhouse gases due to human activities, leads to global warming—the long-term rise in Earth's average temperature. This warming triggers further changes in the climate, including altered weather patterns, rising sea levels, and more frequent extreme weather events.
Earth's heating is driven by the natural "greenhouse effect" but human consumption practices have intensified and accelerated this process, leading to global warming and ongoing climate destabilization.
So you see, yes, greenhouse gases retain heat. They do this by trapping heat in the Earth's atmosphere, a process known as the greenhouse effect. Sunlight reaches Earth: The Sun emits energy in the form of visible light and ultraviolet radiation, which passes through the Earth's atmosphere and warms the surface. The Earth's surface absorbs this sunlight and then radiates energy back into the atmosphere as infrared radiation (heat).
Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), water vapor (H₂O), and nitrous oxide (N₂O), absorb and re-emit some of this infrared radiation. Instead of allowing the heat to escape into space, these gases trap it in the lower atmosphere. By retaining this heat, greenhouse gases help keep the Earth's surface warmer than it would be without them, which is essential for life. However, human activities like burning fossil fuels and deforestation have increased the concentration of greenhouse gases, enhancing the natural greenhouse effect and leading to global warming.
The single biggest consequence of global warming is arguably climate destabilization — an intense, broad-scale disruption to climate systems that affects ecosystems, human communities, and natural resources worldwide. This destabilization manifests in more extreme weather events the biggest one being intense heat.
Which then raises the big “elephant in the room” question: when scarcity becomes a global reality, and the epoch of abundance becomes a faint silhouette in our rearview mirrors, and inflation runs amok beyond the controls of the "wise" policymakers, and catastrophic system failures proliferate in "cascades" and empathy morphs into apathy, will altruism prevail among humans?
Think about it!