CO2 is the main greenhouse gas? What could they possibly hope to gain with such blatant lies?

Question

News.com.au Flash player interactives include one that states that CO2 and methane contribute 80% of the greenhouse effect. Any child can access an encyclopedia online that says that water contributes up to 86%. 36% as gas and the rest as cloud. Makes a big difference in modeling.
Another Flashplayer interactive by the same authors states that it has been proven that ALL global warming is caused by increases in CO2 levels. Probably and Significant contibution perhaps but proven and ALL. How could such a thing be proven? ALL requires that ANY form of natural effect must be discounted. Again just not possible.
So why would someone go to the trouble of producing such presentations and why would any sentient journalist publish them online where kids and their teacher may access them?
Remember the Great Wall of China and the rabbits adverts? Is it possible that this stuff is a joke? I doubt it somehow.
Sentient and Journalist, only an oxymoron in Australia? Aussie jokes anyone?

People want the link
http://www.news.com.au/interactives
The presentation refers to greenhouse gases generally and ignores water.
That would be 36% vapour + 50% as cloud = 86% of total greenhouse gas. Water absorbs a similar spectrum to CO2. CO2 + methane = 12% of greenhouse effect.
They question is why lie about it?

Answer 1

Can't comment specifically as haven't read the article you refer to. Do you have a link?

Carbon dioxide accounts for 72% of the manmade contribution to global warming and methane accounts for a further 8%, the other main anthropogenic contributor is nitrous oxide which accounts for 18%.

Water vapour is the primary greenhouse gas, not because it's good at retaining heat but because there's so much of it compared to the manmade gases.

If the report is referring only to anthropogenic global warming then it's correct, if it's referring to global warming per se then it's not correct.

What isn't correct, however you look at it, is that all global warming is the result of CO2.

I'd be interested in seeing this article and finding out who is behind it, please post a link if you have one.

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Thanks for adding the link. The presentation does clearly state that CO2 and CH4 make up 80% of the greenhouse effect which is wrong, it would be accurate had it said '80% of the anthropogenic contribution to the greenhouse effect'. The remainder of the presentation is correct but it would have been better had natural greenhouse gases been taken into account.

I don't think they're lying, they've just overlooked something that is often overlooked, i.e. they made a mistake. You've made several mistakes in your figures but I'm not accusing you of lying.

Answer 2

You're not quite quoting it correctly. If you go to the presentation, what it says is:

"Carbon dioxide and methane are responsible for 80% of the greenhouse effect."

Now I don't know how they got the 80%, so I can't comment on that. However, the atmospheric water vapor concentration is dependent on the atmospheric temperature. If the average temperature on earth increases (like say, if CO2 concentrations are increasing the greenhouse effect), then the atmosphere can hold more water vapor.

"Current state-of-the-art climate models include fully interactive clouds[3]. They show that an increase in atmospheric temperature caused by the greenhouse effect due to anthropogenic gases will in turn lead to an increase in the water vapor content of the troposphere, with approximately constant relative humidity. The increased water vapor in turn leads to an increase in the greenhouse effect and thus a further increase in temperature; the increase in temperature leads to still further increase in atmospheric water vapor; and the feedback cycle continues until equilibrium is reached. Thus water vapor acts as a positive feedback to the forcing provided by human-released greenhouse gases such as CO2."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas#The_role_of_water_vapor

So they could be trying to say that CO2 and methane are responsible for the 80% of the recent increase in the greenhouse effect. Regardless, whoever made the presentation worded it poorly, but the basic principles are correct.

Answer 3

CO2 is said to be the main "man-made" greenhouse gas. Neglecting the CO2 that is from respiration (breathing), the water vapor in the air (btw for the first responded water can be in a gaseous form).

But my main question is the only way to elimiate "man-made" causes is to eliminate man. Because we aren't natural--that is the implication of all of this basically.

Finally, take it from a submariner. You won't pass out at 19.5% oxygen. Somewhere less than 16% is when it becomes impossible to maintain consciousness unless you have a respiratory problem. We kept the sub at 16 to 18% oxygen all the time to reduce the chance of a fire.

Dumb question, worse answers.

Answer 4

Do you understand the difference between warmth and warming?

The temperature stays at a certain level due in part to greenhouse gases that retain heat at a constant rate. If you ADD MORE of those gases, then you get warming, because heat builds up faster than it dissipates. So it's perfectly legitimate to say that warming is caused by CO2 levels, which are increasing - primarily due to human activity.

Answer 5

What this "journalist" has done is take on fact blow it way up and try to turn it into someting scary like all journalists do. I have no respect for journalists. Personaly i see no point to their existence.

CO2 at the highest elevations of the atmosphere is what the problem actually is. But it is only brought on by the other pollutants that cause problems. As they expand and disspate through the atmosphere the high altitude CO2 is formed which is a problem.

But the way that this a'nu's licking journalist put it you'd think that by breathing out CO2 when we exhale we are contributing to the death of the planet.

I guess somone forgot to tel him, that all plants need CO2 to live.

I agree, what a waste of time, and energy. And an even bigger mistake that it is available to be taught in schools. Maybe we shoud contact this "journalist", and tell him what a flaming idiot they are.

Answer 6

That is all BS. there is only 1.1 % green house gas . The oxyhen is 20.9% and notrogen is 78% ,there is no change in the green house gas. If the oxygen were to drop below 19.5% u would pass out. Also CO2 is very heavy and 90% is withen 10 ft. of the ground. If it comes from an air plane it falls like a rock. CO2 is so heavy that it will smother a fire. If it was as high as u think there would be many dead . Look at the plants and photosynthis.

Answer 7

Without a doubt the 'natural' balance of the Earth ecosystem has been affected by man. We stand witness as the Earth attempts to adjust for the affects of man and establish a 'new natural' balance.

Try and develop all the models you want, the Earth is always going to be one step ahead of you.

I do not believe we 'scientists' can accurately model global warming because nature is so unpredictable. You can document the affects but predict the affects... not possible.

Answer 8

Sounds more like a speech~
A subject so serious should not end with...
Aussie jokes anyone???
You say 86% water, 36% gas~+ clouds???
86
36
= 122 + the clouds~!~
Holy cow we are over crowded !!
In your presentation your math doesn't add up~!~
You might want to have a child add that up~

Answer 9

Deniers seem very willing to blame climate change today on solar changes, in spite of evidence that the solar input hasn't changed much lately. Then you ignore the evidence that the solar input was considerably lower during the Ordovician. You evidently can't consider more than one variable at a time - whichever one agrees with your prejudices better.

Answer 10

CO2 is a major cause of global warming, but only because it is a heat-trapping sort of gas. The fact is NOX (Nitrice Oxide - i can't spell that) is much more potent at trapping heat than CO2, but there just isn't nearly as much. (NOX is produced by burning fossile fuel also - go figure).