Why does the production of CO2 by humans cause global warming?

Answer 1

Co2 is not to blame for global warming, it is a well known scientific fact that the planet is coming out of an ice age that happened only 20,000 years ago, which is quite recent in time terms.

the fact that we as the human race do not understand enough about what is happening to our planet makes some dopehead think "i know lets blame blah blah blah."

not long ago it was chloroflourocarbons now its Co2, what next methane gas from farting cows.

Answer 2

While the others are correct in their part of the story, they are ignoring a large, pehaps the vast majority of the picture. Yes the oceans are the major regulator of the ambient temperature, but they are also the largest source of O2. Plancton provides the majority of the Earth's conversion from CO2.

CO2 is called "a greenhouse gas" because it has the ability to absorb the infered portion of the spectrum, there are other gasses that do this.

Ozone is a gas that absorbes the opposite end of the spectrum the ultraviolet, this is the side of the spectrum that has all the dangerous radiation, and the flurocarbons that we outlawed can and do breakdown ozone. Supposedly this is working, but one must consider the source of the information. Methane is another chemical that breaks down ozone, but since the natural decomposition of any living matter produces methane, I doubt we can do anything about that. Also because it is a natural chemical I doubt that it is a problem, the world got along with it for Billions of years so,,,

So back to CO2. CO2 is what all animals produce as a waste product of respiration. The ballance usually is the plants on the other side of the scales. But we have been burning the petrochemical production it took the planet centuries of time to produce every month. This produces CO2 out of the ballance, massively out of the ballance. Then there is deforestation, second to the oceans in the recycling of CO2 to O2 were the "old growth forests", the majority of these are no more, and all the rest are being "harvested". The success of our methods of "harvest" can be seen in the global growth of deserts, now compounded in speed and sevarity. Now lets go back to those "stable" oceans. Commercial fishing is causing the rarity if not the aproaching extinction of many of the tops of every ocean food chain. The tops are essential to keeping ecosystems stable, they curb disease, trim population oveages, basically act as the weight on top of a pressure cooker. But we've been removing them to the point that they are becoming harder and harder to find. Basically we've been messing with all the most essential and delicate parts of the system, and playing denial games about the consequences of the results. So we've been massively messing with the major forms of O2 production while exponentially increasing CO2 production. Now, more good news! (NOT!!!!) They are right, we are coming out of a mini ice age. But that just means the ballance was already swinging in this direction naturally, our efforts are adding massive amounts of momentum to this natural swing.

And the proof is in the pudding, since the begining of its measure, the oxygen partial pressure has been constantly dropping. By a gradually INCREASING curve. Global warming is a concern, yes, but oxygen is what we ALL breath,,,

Facts can be manipulated any way you choose, if you choose denial, you can find a way to keep your head in the sand. The fact is the United States is the only 1st world country to resist the sanctions to resist global warming universally agreed to by the rest.

Answer 3

Certain gases don't let the heat escape from the Earth's surface. It's like putting on an extra blanket or an extra sweater. If you put on a sweater, the sweater does not actually make any heat. It just makes it so that the heat from your body does not escape as easily.
The major natural greenhouse gases are water vapor, which causes about 36-70% of the greenhouse effect on Earth (not including clouds); carbon dioxide, which causes 9-26%; methane, which causes 4-9%, and ozone, which causes 3-7%. It is not possible to state that a certain gas causes a certain percentage of the greenhouse effect, because the influences of the various gases are not additive. (The higher ends of the ranges quoted are for the gas alone; the lower ends, for the gas counting overlaps.)[2][3] Other greenhouse gases include, but are not limited to, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons (see IPCC list of greenhouse gases).

Millions of tons of crap DAILY into the atmosphere is nothing to sneeze at. Pun intended.

We are shrewing ourselves over for a buck.
Shooting ourselves in the herd.
Stepping on our own ducks.
Cutting off our nose to spite our finch.
Kicking ourselves in the asparagus beetle.

For the almighty dollar we're ruining it for everybody and everything, and people who deny it are three fries short of a Happy Meal.
Have a nice day.

Answer 4

CO2 is transparent to ultra violet and visible light, both of which arrive in energy packets called quanta. The energy of such quanta when meeting solid material is converted into heat, some of the energy of which is re-radiated in the infra-red. CO2 is opaque to infra-red and so absorbs its energy, thus warming up. The glass of a greenhouse has similar properties and effects, thus 'greenhouse' gases.

The point about chlorofluorocarbons is not that they were exclusively responsible for the greenhouse effect, but that their effect pound-for-pound was much greater and additive to other greenhouse gases of which the most common, by amount present is CO2. CFCs also react with ozone destroying this essential protective layer in the stratosphere. Methane is also a powerful greenhouse gas, about sixty times more than the equivalent weight of CO2.

Ice cores from Greenland show that the amount of carbon dioxide in trapped fossil atmosphere varied continuously. Earthly temperature variations measured by other means, such as minute organisms with very specific temperature requirements show that when the temperature fluctuates upward this is following the same pattern as increasing atmospheric CO2 content. If atmospheric CO2 was in homeostatic balance with the oceans, as one illiterate wag has proposed, there would be no variation as homeoSTATIC, by definition, means unvarying.

While excessive volcanic activity can produce more greenhouse gases than human activity, there has been insufficient volcanic activity during the last couple of centuries to explain the actual rising measurements of atmospheric CO2 content, which has been monitored in recent decades. QED.

Answer 5

by using a car or inefficiant items such as an old computer or fridge freezer -etc including aerosols with cfc's - all these contribute co2 emissions that we use which get trapped int he atmosphere, as a result ice caps melt - and this means that there is then less snow to reflect the suns heat and rays back into space. Also by the destruction of the rainforests - which are depleating ata rapid rate - something like 4% of the world rainforests are now left (this inludes Brazil and other countries) - the rainforests absorb co2 carbon and due to the lack of greenery caused by humans hacking them down -

3rd world countries havent the option of goign green as they simply have no economy to support it - as well.

did this as a project for my friends daughter - heheeh - and i got an A!!! yay

Answer 6

It is my understanding that the global warming is more closely correlated with solar activity than with human activity. But assuming humans are causing it, how about planting trees to handle the excess CO2....

Answer 7

Well it isnt the only cause of global warming but put v v simply it contributes by gathering within the earths atmosphere (it cant all escape naturally) to cause a kind of oven effect where rays,uva uvb etc, (and heat) from the sun enter the amosphere and bounce back off the earth but they cant leave because of the CO2 layer. This in turn causes a heating effect and all this weird weather weve been seeing! Hope that helps!

Answer 8

Because CO2 lets in visible solar radiation which warms the Earth. The CO2 then stops the heat from escaping. It's like glass in a greenhouse.

There's also a lot of natural CO2 produced. There's a natural "carbon cycle" which recycles CO2. But it's a delicate balance. Man has upset the balance by digging up very large amounts of carbon that the natural cycle buried over many years millions of years ago. Man then burns them very rapidly, releasing a lot of CO2.

You can see it clearly in this data. The little squiggles are the natural cycle doing it's thing. The CO2 goes down in winter when plants are active, and up in winter. The huge push upward is us burning fossil fuels and overwhelming the natural cycle.

http://scrippsco2.ucsd.edu/graphics_gallery/mauna_loa_record/mlo_record.html

People above make some unsupported arguments that this is not so. But this is solid science, backed up by hard data, and accepted by the vast majority of scientists.

The overall warming of the Earth that is produced by greenhouse gases (water vapor is the most important one) is the "greenhouse effect". The additional contribution by man is global warming and it will create much destruction if we don't fight it.

The junkscience guy cited below used write about how cigarettes weren't harmful. Now I guess he's paid by the fossil fuel industry. Here are a few more respectable sources, and they're Republicans. You may not respect them all, but surely you respect some.

"The science of global warming is clear. We know enough to act now. We must act now."

James Rogers, CEO of Charlotte-based Duke Energy.

"The overwhelming majority of atmospheric scientists around the world and our own National Academy of Sciences are in essential agreement on the facts of global warming and the significant contribution of human activity to that trend."

Russell E. Train, former environmental official under Presidents Nixon and Ford

"We simply must do everything we can in our power to slow down global warming before it is too late. The science is clear. The global warming debate is over."

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Republican, Governor, California

"Our nation has both an obligation and self-interest in facing head-on the serious environmental, economic and national security threat posed by global warming."

John McCain, Republican, Senator, Arizona

"These technologies will help us become better stewards of the environment - and they will help us to confront the serious challenge of global climate change."

President George Bush

Answer 9

Global warming is occurring due to oceans heating, not greenhouse gases. The oceans are heating due to hot spots rotating in the earth's core, which is the cause of ice ages.

Oceans regulate the amount of CO2 in the air, as indicated by the chemistry and the stability over time at extremely low levels. Otherwise there would a large amount in the air, and it would fluctuate drastically (like smog does).

Principles of chemistry indicate that regulation by oceans must be absolute. CO2 disolving in water establishes an equilibrium. Equilibrium means absolute regulation.

Production and sequestration of CO2 are totally irrelevant, because they do not regulate. They would leave excessive and highly varied amounts in the air, if oceans were not regulating.

Answer 10

Bob says "The junkscience guy cited below used write about how cigarettes weren't harmful. Now I guess he's paid by the fossil fuel industry."

This is typical liberal gibberish. Insert irrelevant arguments to draw attention away from the actual topic. Cigarettes? Fossil fuel industry? What??? Why are liberals incapable of staying on topic? You guys have 4 or 5 buzz words that you wantonly throw around in every discussion, regardless of its direction.

For citing so many sources, you sure are afraid to read a source that actually contains facts.

And since you're so source happy, why don't you cite the (albeit irrelevant) cigarette article you're referring to? I'm quite sure the entire article doesn't consist of "Cigarettes aren't dangerous. The end."

Are you dizzy from spinning yet?