Tag: carbon dioxide

[def from Wikipedia.]  Carbon dioxide (chemical formula CO2) is a colorless and odorless gas that is vital to life on Earth. This naturally occurring chemical compound is made up of a carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. Carbon dioxide exists in Earth’s atmosphere as a trace gas at a concentration of about 0.04 percent (400 ppm) by volume.[3] Natural sources include volcanoes, hot springs and geysers, and it is freed from carbonate rocks by dissolution in water and acids. Because carbon dioxide is soluble in water, it occurs naturally in groundwater, rivers and lakes, in ice caps and glaciers and also in seawater. It is present in deposits of petroleum and natural gas.

[added comments] While carbon dioxide is a “greenhouse” gas and it does absorb energy in some infrared wavelength bands, many scientists will argue that its affect on average global temperatures have been considerably exaggerated by the proponents of catastrophic anthropogenic global warming.  In order to derive effects extreme enough to be considered catastrophic, they have had to rely on strong positive feedback resulting in much larger effects than CO2 could produce without any feedbacks.  Many prestigious scientists disagree with that and some even suspect the feedback is not only much less than estimated, but may even be negative.

One must always consider that contrary to that which is frequently stated by climate activists/alarmists, the debate is never over in science.

Explaining Mauna Loa CO2 Increases with Anthropogenic and Natural Influences

by Roy W. Spencer, Ph. D.  

[This post first appeared on Dr. Spencer’s web site (here) on 9 April 2022.  We have reproduced it on our web site for the purpose of education and discussion under the fair use doctrine. Ed.]

Summary
Image by Pixabay

The proper way of looking for causal relationships between time series data (e.g. between atmospheric CO2 and temperature) is discussed. While statistical analysis alone is unlikely to provide “proof” of causation, use of the ‘master equation’ is shown to avoid common pitfalls.  Correlation analysis of natural and anthropogenic forcings with year-on-year changes in Mauna Loa CO2 suggest a role for increasing global temperature at least partially explaining observed changes in CO2, but purely statistical analysis cannot tie down the magnitude. One statistically-based model using anthropogenic and natural forcings suggests ~15% of the rise in CO2 being due to natural factors with an excellent match between model and observations for COVID-19 related downturn in global economic activity in 2020.

Introduction

The record of atmospheric CO2 concentration at Mauna Loa, Hawaii since 1959 is the longest continuous record we have of actual (not inferred) Continue reading “Explaining Mauna Loa CO2 Increases with Anthropogenic and Natural Influences”

CRITIQUE of the June 2021 AARP Bulletin: “Climate Change and You”

Robert W. Endlich

A few months ago, I picked up the June 2021 issue of the AARP BULLETIN. What greeted me was inch-high letters blaring the title of their feature article: “CLIMATE CHANGE AND YOU; Extreme Weather Is Affecting Older Americans’ Daily Life…”

On the front cover, four huge images, vivid color photos: white-shirted man on rooftop looking into a wildfire in southern California, flood victims of Hurricane Florence in an overloaded boat in South Carolina, woman in jeans and white shirt in Mississippi assessing damage after Hurricane Katrina, and a view of slushy streets in Texas, February 2021.

 

Figure 1. Screenshot of the AARP BULLETIN’s front cover graphics for the feature article, ”What You Need to Know About Climate Change.” The authors don’t know it but, what they are really describing is wild weather, part of the climate we have. AARP’s ignorance starts right here, with this cover graphic.

The photos are dramatic, of course, classic emotional appeals by the media. But I thought,

“Is AARP subliminally trying to tell us that wildfires are new Continue reading “CRITIQUE of the June 2021 AARP Bulletin: “Climate Change and You””

Post-Hurricane Ida’s deadly rain event in New York City

Natural Rainfall, Excessive Runoff, and Lousy Drainage, Not Human-Caused CO2-fueled Global Warming 

By Robert W. Endlich
FLOODING IN NEW YORK CITY

As the remnants of what, days before, had been Hurricane Ida passed by the New York City Metro area the evening of 1 Sep 2021, the skies opened up and in spots it poured, as an anticipated heavy rain event crossed the region near sunset.  Thunderstorms, fed by water vapor evaporating from

Image by Pixabay

historically the warmest waters of the year offshore, in New York Bay and the nearby Atlantic Ocean, even brought some tornadoes as the unstable air was made even more unstable by convergence of the air at the surface. Overwater winds came onshore to terrain filled with high-rise apartments and skyscrapers built to enable the highest numbers of humans to live and work in the New York City Metropolitan Area, home to over 8 million souls, Continue reading “Post-Hurricane Ida’s deadly rain event in New York City”

El Nino and La Nina: The Controls on Rainfall and Drought in the Western USA

Robert W. Endlich

“It is not necessary to believe false CO2 theory and stories to understand the wild weather in the wild West . . .”

Image courtesy of Pixabay

Have you ever wondered why weather-related news stories from the western USA seem to go from hot, dry weather, droughts, extensive wildfires, and forest fires to the other extreme: heavy rainfall seemingly for days on end, often with cliffside houses washing from their perches into the Pacific Ocean? On-line stories are often accompanied with illustrative video. There is a seemingly never-ending string of weather-related stories carrying western datelines, seemingly varying from dry to drenching, from one extreme to another.

Sometimes climate alarmists claim this is an artifact of our use of fossil fuels, and we are causing these wild excursions because of the increasing amounts of the trace gas CO2 in the atmosphere.

The Questions

“Are we causing these excursions?”

“What is going on here?”

Answers. Starting with some History

Clues come from the history of the Spanish-speaking fishermen who plied Continue reading “El Nino and La Nina: The Controls on Rainfall and Drought in the Western USA”

Facebook Censorship of CASF

Robert W. Endlich

 [So, it appears as if the Facebook part of Big Tech is dredging newspapers’ opinion pages, looking for people who criticize the polemic of human-caused CO2-fueled global warming catastrophe.]

This post contains a series of four documents, starting with a 3 May 2019 Letter to the Editor of the Las Cruces Sun-News by CASF member, Fran Lavery, and ends with Facebook censoring my views.

Face Book Clip Art

Intermediate steps include a 12 May 2019 Letter to the Editor of the Sun News from Climate Activist Peter Kuntz of Northglenn, Colorado, and my Comment, taking Kuntz to task, and now, recently discovered (June 2021) Facebook actions to prevent my Comment from achieving widespread notice.

Today’s post shows Facebook is censoring views it does not like.

The sequence below brings directly to CASF, our members and friends, and other curious individuals, proof that Big Tech, rather than fostering Continue reading “Facebook Censorship of CASF”