The Aug. 11 letter “The reality of climate change must force action” said we must: “transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable and equitable energy as quickly as possible.”
Here is why stopping man-made carbon dioxide emissions is totally worthless for preventing global warming.
The oceans hold a huge amount of dissolved CO2 gas and have a 40,000-mile long chain of mountains under them that are volcanically active and emit CO2, along with lots of heat to warm the ocean depending on rate of activity, very little of which is being monitored.
We see atmospheric CO2 rising each year. Why? If the ocean is being heated by volcanic activity, and if the sun’s rays are not being reflected back into space by certain cloud types and particles in the air, then we should see more CO2 out-gassing from the ocean as it heats up.
Look at the NOAA annual mean growth rate of CO2 chart covering 1960 through present at Mauna Loa observatory. CO2 growth rate dropped to 0.28 and 0.48 parts per million for years 1964 and 1992. How come? Did people suddenly burn less coal, gas and oil those years? No, Mt. Agung (1963-64) and Mt. Pinatubo (1991-92) blasted about 1 cubic mile of ash into the air to a height of some 22 miles. This causes a shading and cooling effect on the ocean, which then expels less CO2.
About 95% of the greenhouse gas effect comes from water vapor. Only about 0.117% of the greenhouse effect is due to man-made atmospheric CO2 (these figures take into account the heat retention capabilities of the gases as water vapor holds a lot more heat than CO2).
Those who say man-made CO2 is causing global warming need to show us from a thermodynamics perspective how man’s microscopic contribution of CO2 into the atmosphere accomplishes this future worldwide thermal disaster.
Yes, it is hot and dry, but is it actually worse than the ‘Dirty Thirties’ dust bowl days when farmers were plowing dried out lake bottoms? Back then, CO2 in the atmosphere was significantly lower than today.
