Roughly 30 percent of the solar radiation directed toward the earth is reflected directly back into outer space. The remaining 70 percent is absorbed by earth and re-emitted outward as long-wave—or infra-red—radiation. While transparent to incoming solar radiation, certain gases–notably carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, and chlorofluorocarbons—absorb, or “trap,” this outgoing infra-red radiation near the … Continue reading Controlling the Greenhouse Effect