re: #377 ben_t

Now, I know that “trillions of tons” seems like a lot, but when you compare this to the total mass of the atmosphere, which is on the order of several quadrillions of tons then not so much. You are making a mistake typical of lay persons when referring to large numbers but simultaneously ignoring scale. Morons indeed.

If you think that parts per million is no big deal, would you object to ingesting a single microgram of pollonium? Think before you answer, because your answer will kill you if it’s wrong.

The scale of additional human-supplied CO2 in the atmosphere is sufficient to move the relative abundance of CO2 up by 50%, 70%, (already), and eventually to more than double it. This is the gas that is the key reason why the surface of the earth is a lot warmer, on average, than the surface of the moon.

To imagine that a little bit of something cannot make a big difference is to discard the lessons of common sense. Nobody misses the fact that a little bit of silvering makes sunglasses a lot darker, that a little bit of poison can kill, and that a little bit of CO2 makes the atmosphere a much better blanket for the earth.

Nobody but ——well——you.