Quote:
Originally Posted by mykalberta
Since you seem to be an expert.
Can you give a simplified explanation (for the dumb ones on this forum) as to the correlation between GHG/carbon emissions and how and why that is increasing the temperature of the earth.
I was under the impression that GHG/carbon emissions eroded the ozone layer which allowed more of the suns rays in which is what has heated up the earth since the ozone was like a sunscreen for the earth. That simplified explanation made sense to me.
Basically a scientific reason as to why I should drive a Prius instead of a Hummer.
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I don't claim to be an expert, but Flash Walken's diagram explains it pretty well.
Greenhouse gases are a natural part of the atmosphere. They are the reason why the temperature of the earth can be maintained, rather than having all heat bounce off the earth and into space. Carbon Dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases, along with other things such as water vapour.
The debate lies in how effective carbon dioxide is as a greenhouse gas, ie. does it reflect heat as well as is being claimed. I won't say which side I'm on, but I will agree that the politicization of this issue is detrimental. For example, I had a professor at UofC that was considered to be one of the leading climate scientists in North America. Whenever a student would question some of his work he would answer with "If you don't believe in global warming, then frankly, you're stupid." Well... Dr. D-bag, that's not how science works.