carbons role in global warming PLEASE ANSWER!!?

Question

does anyone know what carbons role in global warming is?


PLEASE ANSWER!!

i need to do a presentation on it and its really hard. im in a group of 3 and we couldnt find any info. 1 person isnt coming and i dont know about the other!! .

Answer 1

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is considered a greenhouse gas. That means it prevents heat from escaping the earth and contributes to global warming.

Answer 2

With all due respect to Wee Bit, the greenhouse "blanket" theory is the height of circular argument.

The greenhouse theory computes the surface temperature of the earth by assuming that the atmosphere has a warming effect. It then uses that assumption to compute what the surface temperature would be without an atmosphere. The result of that calculation is then used to repeat the original assumption that the surface temperature of the earth would be less without the atmosphere. That borders on scientific fraud.

So, what is needed is an alternate theory with which to compare results. Such a theory is available and can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackbody . This calculation makes the assumption that the atmosphere has no effect on temperature and computes a mean temperature of the earth of 5.7C degrees--within the margin of error of what is measured.

So, the greenhouse theory assumes that the atmosphere has an effect and gets an answer that differs from the blackbody calculation which accurately reproduces the observed temperature of the earth. The greenhouse effect theory then uses its inconsistent result to support its original hypothesis. This is voodoo science and unworthy of the attention it gets.

Further, the blackbody calculation accurately reproduces mean temperatures for every planet in the solar system with the exception of Venus. The greenhouse theory gets the wrong answer for every planet in the solar system.

So, what is carbon's role in global warming? According to the superiority of the blackbody calculation to the greenhouse calculation, carbon has no role in global warming.

Answer 3

CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere effect the balance of the radiative energy gains and losses of the earth and so effects the temperature. You can best explain the science with a visual. see http://stephenschneider.stanford.edu/Climate/Climate_Science/EarthsEnergyBalance.html
With less CO2 in the atmosphere that narrow tube on the right (marked 40) of escaping radiation would be bigger.
or here is a simple explanation http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/greenhouse.html
The calculating the size of the temperature change caused by extra CO2 is very complicated and done with computer programs, which all scientist agree are subject to large errors. The recent evidence of warmer global temperatures has convinced most scientists that CO2 increases matter. Global warming is very controversial for political reasons so there is a lot of bad information on the net on both sides.

Answer 4

In this case, carbon refers to Carbon Dioxide (CO2), which is a greenhouse gas. For the most part, the Earth needs to have some CO2 in the atmosphere, otherwise the Earth would be a frozen wasteland. This is due to the insulative effect of the gas. On the other hand, too much CO2 will result in thermal run away, increasing our planet's temperature beyond what we currently consider normal. As a result, we could have polar ice caps melting, causing a whole host of disasters.

Carbon Dioxide is produced by both manmade and natural sources. Natural sources would include volcanic eruptions, decaying organic matter, and animal respiration. The Earth's ecosystem can counter most of the CO2 produced in this fashion, albeit if too many volcanic eruptions happened at the same time, CO2 levels could raise higher than normal.

Manmade sources of CO2 production include the burning of fossile fuels for a number of reasons. Whether it is cars producing CO2 by burning gasoline or diesel fuels, electricity plants burning coal or methane, or the industrial sector producing manufactured goods, humans put lots of CO2 into the atmosphere. Combine this with deforestation, and you allow for the CO2 in the atmosphere to rise to higher levels than it should.

Think of it this way, if you're cold while in bed at night, you add more blankets to keep warm. More blankets provide more insulation, thus helping to hold your heat in. Same thing applies to adding more CO2 to the atmosphere. It results in better atmospheric insulation, thus keeping more heat in and raising global temperatures.

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

Some gases in the atmosphere are transparent to visible light, but block heat. They let sunlight in and block the resulting heat. That's the greenhouse effect. It's like how the glass in a greenhouse keeps plants warm in winter. It's largely natural, desirable, and caused by water vapor.

Global warming is excess greenhouse effect caused by man, chiefly through burning fossil fuels and making carbon dioxide. It threatens to cause very costly flooding and serious damage to agriculture.

There is a natural "carbon cycle" that recycles CO2. But it's a delicate balance and we're messing it up.

Look at this graph.

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

The little squiggles are nature doing its' thing. CO2 falls a bit during summer when plants are active, and rises during the winter. The huge increase is us, burning fossil fuels. Nature buried them over a very long time. We dig them up and burn them, real fast. So we're upsetting the balance of nature. We need to fix that.

More here:

http://www.teachersdomain.org/resources/tdc02/sci/ess/earthsys/ccycle/index.html

Much more here:

http://www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/f101.asp

http://www.realclimate.org/

Answer 6

Carbon dioxide prevent heat from leaving the earth surface there by cause increase in the heat of the planet.