Why is the world warming up? Let's think of Earth for just a moment as a greenhouse. Every second, a huge amount of energy smashes into our greenhouse. Our atmosphere, the glass roof and walls, reflects some of that energy, but most of it passes right through and heats everything up. Much of that heat used to escape back into space, keeping us at a stable, warm temperature.
Zašto se Zemlja zagrijava? Zamislimo na trenutak da je Zemlja staklenik. Svake sekunde, ogromna količina energije zaleti se u naš staklenik. Naša atmosfera, stakleni krov i zidovi, odbijaju dio te energije, ali većina prođe kroz staklo i zagrije sve unutra. Velik dio te topline korisi se za povratak u svemir zadržavajući nas na stabilnoj, toploj temperaturi.
But then something changed. Humans began to spew enough carbon dioxide to fill billions of greenhouses each day. What does all that greenhouse gas do? It makes the glass of our greenhouse thicker. Thicker glass means heat escapes into space much more slowly. And don't forget, energy from the sun is still streaming in just as quickly as before.
Ali zatim se nešto promijenilo. Ljudi svakodnevno proizvedu dovoljno ugljikovog dioksida za milijarde staklenika. Što radi sav taj staklenički plin? Podebljava staklo našeg staklenika. Deblje staklo znači da toplina odlazi u svemir mnogo sporije. I ne zaboravite, energija iz sunca i dalje struji jednako brzo kao i prije.
The result is a planet with temperatures too hot for our liking and, eventually... living.
Rezultat toga je planet s temperaturama prevrućim za naš ukus i na kraju... život.
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