re: #283 looking closely

Being WAY out of my field, I can’t comment specifically on studies in atmospheric science other than to say that “the” experiment to determine the effect of CO2 on global climate effectively CANNOT be done. (IE we don’t have an extra “control” earth lying around, nor any completely validated climate model to go by).

Modelling climate is unbelievably complex, and as one tiny example, there is good reason to believe that much of the data ostensibly measuring the surface temperature of the earth aren’t “right”. If we can’t even accurately measure the temperature of the earth, then how can we draw any meaningful conclusions about the effect of mankind on climate?

We don’t need to have an extra “control” earth lying around to test the hypothesis that an increase carbon dioxide can increase the greenhouse effect. CO2 gas has a high loss tangent at infrared wavelengths. CO2 and water vapor account for large majority of the greenhouse effect, with methane and ozone accounting for the smaller balance.