Causes of Global Warming

Burning coal, oil and natural gas to heat (or cool) our homes, power our cars, and provide electricity for our machines & lights produces carbon dioxide & other gases as by-products. Deforestation and the clearing of land for agriculture also release large amounts of these gases.
Since the industrial revolution, we have been emitting gases, such as carbon dioxide & methane faster than natural systems can remove them from the atmosphere. So these gases are increasing in our atmosphere. With the increasing in the population of the world, these gases are also increasing at an even faster rate and will continue to do so in the future.
Gases like water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone, methane, nitrous oxide & chlorofluorocarbons are all increasing in the earth’s atmosphere because of human activities. All of these gases trap heat in the earth’s atmosphere; because of this, they are known as GREENHOUSE GASES.
The earth receives heat from the rays of the sun (solar radiation). Most of this heat is absorbed by the earth but a significant amount is reflected back into the earth’s atmosphere and it is returned to outer space. However, the greenhouse gases, which trap heat on earth, are increasing, so they trap more heat than they have done in the past.