What is the Atmosphere?
The atmosphere of Earth, commonly known as air, is the layer of gases retained by Earth’s gravity that surrounds the planet.
An atmosphere is the layers of gases surrounding a planet or other celestial body. Earth’s atmosphere is composed of about 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and one percent other gases.
Background Information
The atmosphere protects life on earth by shielding it from incoming ultraviolet (UV) radiation, keeping the planet warm through insulation, and preventing extremes between day and night temperatures.
- Troposphere
- Stratosphere
- Mesosphere
- Thermosphere
- Exosphere
Due to climate change and GHG emissions, there is an increased amount of carbon dioxide being released. The more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the more the atmosphere warms due to the greenhouse effect. A warmer atmosphere holds more water vapor, which is itself a greenhouse gas. The Earth warms and climates are affected and changed drastically.
Current Impacts
What does this mean for businesses?
Emitting CO2 into the atmosphere in excessive amounts is causing climate change, the atmosphere is able to handle some amounts of CO2 but it can not keep up. Anyway that your business is emitting or taking steps to reduce emissions is impacting the Earth’s atmosphere. If nothing is done, the climate will be completely altered and it will be irreversible .
Learn More!
Take our EcoLearn courses to learn more about how the atmosphere affects climate change and what that means for your business!
