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Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Greenhouse Effect: Explaining It To Tweens

Heat Mirage:
https://images.app.goo.gl/u1ievvuGgg9eD8KP6

If you’ve ever seen ‘heat waves’ shimmering off of a hot asphalt road far ahead of you on a long straight highway, then you have seen ‘infrared radiation’ and convection in action. Infrared radiation (IR) and convection continually radiate heat away from the surface of the Earth. Nitrogen, oxygen and argon gases of the air do not interfere with the passage of IR; but, large molecules like carbon dioxide, methane and such (greenhouse gases) slow down the escape of IR (heat) out into space. Called the ‘greenhouse effect’, it’s like a slowdown on the freeway, with the heat waves getting jammed up — and this causes the air temperatures to rise. This is a natural process. Indeed, if it weren’t for the greenhouse effect, our planet would have always been a frozen ball of ice. 

[After this point, it might become an explanation of what global warming is. Talking about the balance in nature is a good place to continue on (example: not too much, not too little).
Like other subjects such as sex education, listen carefully to what the child is actually asking and stay within those parameters without undue over expansion. When they’re ready for more, they’ll come back with more questions. 
Note: Don’t give misinformation. If you don’t know, then you don’t know — and now you have questions.]

Here is a link to a posting in my blog on the subject(s) which links to other postings:
http://samslair.blogspot.com/2019/07/easy-explanation-of-greenhouse-effect.html?m=1

If you want to take the direct approach to finding in my blog what you’re interested in, directions are given at the bottom of this page next to the thumbs up icon for using search function. I’ve been interested in the subject since 1978, when I first heard about the gravestones of Alaska’s original settlers tipping over because of melting permafrost.

For more independent research, I suggest:
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/pro-science/
Which I mentioned in 
“Avoid Algorithmic News Feeds”:
http://samslair.blogspot.com/2019/07/avoid-algorithmic-news-feeds.html?m=1