The Warming Blanket

Why it matters

The greenhouse effect is not the villain — without it, Earth would average −18 °C and this lesson would be ice. The villain is the EXTRA blanket we keep knitting.

The idea in plain words

The blanket, itemised. Tap the terms.

in: visible ✓ · out: infrared ✗

Why is a parked car hotter inside than outside on a sunny day?

Your car demonstrates the planet, in miniature, every afternoon

• the blanket: greenhouse gases — CO₂, methane, water vapour, CFCs — transparent to sunlight, opaque to infrared
• the trend: global warming — enhanced greenhouse effect from fossil CO₂ → rising average temperature
• the bill: consequences — melting glaciers, sea-level rise, extreme weather, crop stress
• the levers: minimising — renewables, afforestation, efficiency, public transport — 6.20's list
• Glass admits sunlight; interior re-radiates infrared
• Glass blocks the infrared exit — a literal greenhouse

Predict first

Greenhouse gases warm the Earth by…

Visible sunlight passes through; the ground re-radiates INFRARED, which CO₂, methane and water vapour absorb and bounce back. A one-way valve for warmth.

• letting sunlight in but trapping the outgoing infrared — correct
• blocking sunlight from leaving the Sun
• producing heat themselves

What you do

Dial the CO₂ from pre-industrial to doubled — read the thermometer and the consequences. Then dial it back.

Check yourself

The natural greenhouse effect is…

No blanket: −18 °C. Right blanket: +15 °C. Extra blankets: the current worry.

Which activity REDUCES your CO₂ contribution most directly?

Transport fuel is a top personal emission — every shared or pedalled kilometre skips exhaust CO₂.

Trees fight global warming because they…

A forest is carbon in custody — afforestation is the original carbon-capture technology.

• essential — it keeps Earth habitable; the problem is its ENHANCEMENT — correct
• entirely harmful
• a myth
• using public transport / cycling instead of a car — correct
• burning garden waste
• leaving the fridge open
• absorb CO₂ during photosynthesis, locking carbon into wood — correct
• cool the air with shade only
• release oxygen, which cools the planet