"Greenhouse Gas" is an Oxymoron:
"Greenhouse Gas" is an oxymoron.
Greenhouses allow radiation and inhibit
convection. Any gas that inhibits
convection is by definition, not a gas.
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The Earth's Thermal Equilibrium:
It is often reported that the science on this is settled
since "99%" of scientists agree that carbon dioxide warms
the Earth. Mathematical models are used to demonstrate
this effect. However, anyone who uses a "home grown" model
to predict the effect of carbon dioxide on the Earth is
clearly ignorant of how to do the calculation.
No model is needed; the effect by can be determined by
calculating the thermal equilibrium of the sun shining on
the Earth. Every competent engineer can make this
calculation.
This is the problem. If a light shines on a rock in outer
space, what is the temperature of the rock? If the rock
has an atmosphere, it adds to the calculation, but
nonetheless, the problem is still boils down to a simple
equation (basic functions: addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and division). It is an easy calculation
to make, so let's do it.
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A Big Increase in Carbon Cools the Earth By Less Than 1/1000F:
It is cooler in the shade than it
is in the "hot" sun. The shade can be provided by
anything that absorbs the rays from the sun, such as
an umbrella, a tree, or atmospheric gases.
Anyone who has been outside on a sunny day knows that
this is true, and abundant scientific data also shows
that atmospheric gases shade the earth.
For example, the amount of water vapor in the air varies between
drier and wetter areas. The temperatures show that the wetter
areas are cooler.
A typical comparison is Las Vegas, Nevada and Johnson City, Tennessee.
They have about the same latitude and altitude. In July, the average
humidity in Las Vegas is 21% but Johnson City is 75%. This results in
an average high in Las Vegas of 104 degrees Fahrenheit (F) but only 86 degrees F for
Johnson City. Similar comparisons produce similar results.
Armed with this data, we can calculate the limits of the cooling
produced by carbon dioxide (CO2), because CO2 absorbs (shades) most
of the wavelengths from the sun as water, except water also absorbs
more of the higher frequencies.
The first factor in our calculation is the percentage of atmospheric
gases. In July, it is estimated that water vapor is 1.2% of the atmospheric
gases in Las Vegas and 1.8% of the air in Johnson City. So a 0.6% (1.8 - 1.2)
change in water vapor produces an 18 (104 - 86) degrees F change in
temperature. To state this another way, a 0.1% change in water vapor cools
the temperature 3 degrees F.
The second factor is the mixture of gases. CO2 is about 0.04% of the air. 95%
of the CO2 is from plants. Another 2% of CO2 comes from other natural processes.
Human activity produces about 3% of the CO2, but that is generous. So man-made
CO2 is about 0.0012% (.03 * .04). In other words, water vapor is about 1,000 (1.2 / 0.0012)
times greater than man-made CO2.
How do plants produce 95% of the CO2? Dirt is the big Carbon
reservoir. When plants pull dirty water from the ground, that
Carbon, along with Carbon from photosynthesis, is in the plants when they
die. The Carbon is then released as CO2 when the plants rot.
The third factor is how much sunlight each gas absorbs. Water vapor absorbs
more high frequency light where more of the energy from the sun exists. It is
estimated that water vapor absorbs 4 times more sunlight than CO2. That is
being too generous (it is higher than that), but we are building a case of
limited affect, and these liberal allowances build in safety margins.
Then if a 17% (.1 / (1.8 - 1.2)) change in water vapor
cools the climate 3 degrees F (from above), and if man-made CO2 is
1000 times less than water vapor (from above), and water vapor
absorbs 4 times more sunlight than CO2 (from above), then a 17%
increase in CO2 would cool the Earth 3 / (4 * 1000) = 0.00075 of a
degree F. But remember, it is actually less than that.
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The Effect Lasts Less Than 3 Years:
The amount of Carbon Dioxide in the winter is about 30% than
than the amount in the summer. So Carbon Dioxide stays in the
air less than 3 years.
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