Why does this invisible gas garner such alarm? Groups of scientists and a lot of politicians tell us that greenhouse gases are responsible for a host of terrible acts of nature, from global warming, severe weather patterns, droughts, to dead coral and acidic ocean waters. A whole host of direct and indirect aberrations are also attributed to “Global Warming”. Or as it is now called “Global Climate Change.”
Well, maybe. There are other groups of scientists that claim it ain’t so. The big problem with scientific opinions on the matter is that the problem cannot be studied in the usual scientific methods. Scientists would normally set up an experiment, analyze the results, then repeat the experiment enough times to determine results beyond a doubt. The same method used to find the “god particle” with the Large Hadron Collider. That is not easily done dealing with this planet’s atmosphere and the vagaries of weather.
So, what is this nasty stuff called greenhouse gas? The general scientific consensus is that there are six components to the gas: Water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), ozone (O3), and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). In the composition of this gas, water vapor and clouds make up from 26 to 72 percent. Carbon dioxide comes in a distant second with only 9 to 26 percent. Methane and ozone are at the bottom of the list, and CFCs barely make a mention.
The name comes from the gas’ ability to keep the planet from becoming one big snowball. The sunlight that heats us is reflected from the earth into the atmosphere containing greenhouse gases where the heat is then contained on the earth. Without this gas, all of the earth’s heat gained from the sun would be reflected into space making this a very cold place to live – if we even could.
As you can see from the above percentages the amounts of the components fluctuate. Greenhouse gas is the earth’s “thermostat.” Increases heat the planet and decreases cool it.
Does this cause the recent severe weather? Maybe, maybe not. Some scientists say it does, others say it doesn’t have a direct effect. Even the “fact” that the earth is warming is a matter of debate.
If we turn our attention from the scientists that can’t even agree among themselves and look at history, we find that the earth has undergone many climate fluctuations resulting in drastic changes in the planet’s landscape. As our earth evolves, things change.
Before humans crawled out of their caves, the earth went through some very drastic changes. The lush, steamy environment where dinosaurs roamed turned cold enough to freeze everything on the planet and wipe out these cold-blooded creatures. It also produced glaciers that re-shaped the landscape.
Before mankind even invented fire, there were lush, verdant fields in what is now the Sahara desert. Recorded history shows many ups and down in earth’s temperature. It’s hard to argue that population is causing global warming when nature has a much stronger hand in it than anything humans could ever do.
So why all the anxiety? I have to think it is all due to the efficiency of the propaganda mills. Then too, it is has become the mantra of the left. From California Governor Jerry Brown to President Obama, and the strong left-leaning United Nations, the politicians in charge of policies are adamant about humans causing global warming. Yes, these are the people making policies that affect us all! They have led the sheep at the mainstream media to indoctrinate the public with their pet theory – and it is working.
What can be done about this pending doom in the air? Not much! Nature, not mankind controls the weather. We can no more change global weather than we can control tornadoes and hurricanes. In this country, our leaders are intent on making us sacrifice just to show their power.
How can I say that? Easy. When our national leaders meet those of other countries to discuss this matter, we always come out on the losing end. China and India are huge producers of CO2 and Methane. They are also developing nations. Whatever they create today will only grow in the future. They have all acknowledged the situation but are dragging their feet when it comes to sacrifices. Maybe they know something we don’t.
Then too, take another look at the makeup of greenhouse gasses. The biggest component of this gas is water vapor. The very clouds that give us life-giving rain are the same ones that retain the earth’s heat. I haven’t heard anyone talk about reducing cloud cover!
Believe what you want, but consider this: We can spend decades cutting the generation of CO2 – our “carbon footprint” – but a single big volcano eruption can add it all back in an afternoon. Politicians do not control the weather. Only nature has that much power.
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