As the earth is constantly heated by the sun and we have the law of conservation of energy. Why is the Earth not constantly warming up?

Question

So we have long-term Ice-Ages, but also relatively short term ([https://www.currentresults.com/Environment-Facts/changes-in-earth-temperature.php](https://www.currentresults.com/Environment-Facts/changes-in-earth-temperature.php)).

When the temperature is going down (on average), where does the energy go?

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PS. I am fully convinced we have climate change, we are the problem, etc. I only care about the ‘scientific’ answer.

In: Earth Science

Answer 1

About 30% is directly reflected back into space. Another 25% is absorbed by the atmosphere with some of that being re-radiated back into space. A lot of heat goes into evaporating water from the oceans. During Ice Ages more heat is reflected due to high albedo of the ice (kind of a self-reinforcing loop).