Paper 1 · climatology
Which statement correctly distinguishes the greenhouse effect from global warming?
AThe greenhouse effect is caused mainly by carbon dioxide, while global warming is caused mainly by methane and water vapour, as if they were two entirely separate sets of gases.
BThe greenhouse effect is most noticeable in urban areas, while global warming is treated as a separate process that occurs mainly over oceans.
CThe greenhouse effect is the natural trapping of outgoing long-wave radiation by atmospheric gases, while global warming is the additional warming caused by rising greenhouse gas concentrations from human activity.
DThe greenhouse effect is described as a recent phenomenon caused entirely by industrialisation over the last two centuries, while global warming is treated as the older natural process that existed long before any human industry began.
Explanation: The greenhouse effect is the natural process of atmospheric gases trapping outgoing long-wave radiation, keeping the Earth warmer than it would otherwise be; global warming is the enhancement of that same effect by rising greenhouse gas concentrations from human activity, not a separate or reversed process.
Derived from ZIMSEC Geography Paper 1, November 2004, Q3
