Re: [MLUG - DISCUSSION] [POLITICS] Global Warming

[Stephen Montgomery-Smith <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

Spurling, Shannon wrote:
> Check out www.junkscience.com
>
> They had the best explanation about the actual functioning of all the
> mechanisms involved. One thing that made me think twice was that water
> vapor is more of an effective greenhouse gas than CO2. I started
> thinking about how much water is actually being exposed that was
> previously underground in aquifers. Salt water incursion is such a
> problem and every one and his brother is out making lakes and ponds for
> recreation. These hold water that would normally be filtered into the
> ground by natural processes. 
>
> That's just something to think about really.

Yes, water vapor was something that the expert talked about.  So the 
issue is this - how does the CO2 level affect the H2O level?  He said 
that this was completely unknown.  So I think the implication that more 
CO2 implies global warming is not well established, especially in the 
"slam dunk" sense.  However, the CO2 level definitely seems way higher 
in the last hundred years or so, and way higher then it has every been 
in the last 400,000 years (this is from the web page that Diana 
provided).  While I don't think we can be sure what the effect of this 
much higher CO2 level is going to be, I think that it is a sufficiently 
global phenomenum, whose long term effects, especially if left 
unchecked, are rather unpredictable, that I do think it is worth our 
while to make reasonable efforts to control CO2 emissions.  It's 
basically a - let's not pollute the place - kind of thinking.

On the other hand, I would think that since 2/3 of the world is covered 
with water, that I cannot see how making lakes and ponds is going to 
make any difference whatsoever.  It might perhaps have a local effect.

Apparently water vapor cycles through the atmosphere in about 8 days, so 
if you fill the lakes you solve any problems caused in 8 days.  But 
carbon dioxide cycles through the atmosphere in about 100 years, so if 
our current CO2 levels are going to kill us, we are screwed no matter 
what we do from now on.

Stephen

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