Atmospheric Carbon Pollution

To attain a good understanding of the important aspects of atmospheric carbon pollution, it helps to separate the science from the politics, rhetoric and spin surrounding the climate change debate. Fossil emissions account for 8.5 gigatonnes of carbon per annum and the total amount of carbon in the atmosphere is in the order of 800-850 gt. The present latest reading for carbon concentration is 385-400 ppm as compared to the pre-industrial [ approx. 1800 ] level of 280 ppm, however 60% of the increase has occurred since 1960.

The rise in temperature attributed to the greenhouse effect since preindustrial times is 0.8-1.2 C [ degrees centigrade ] with another 0.5 C factored to rise within the next two decades. Many scientists and governments

The rocks and sand became very hot from hours of the sun 's rays however the vegetation remained bland and cool, even though the total amount received by each comparable area was equal. The land mass heats at twice the rate of the oceans, due to their increased capacity to absorb the sun 's infra-red rays and to the cooling effect of evaporation.

The other main clue that the greenhouse gases are not the major cause of global warming lies in the science itself, particularly the relative concentration of atmospheric gases comprising largely 78% N, 21% O, 0.9% Argon & 0.03% CO2. Atmospheric C02 accounts for only 10-25 % of the greenhouse effect, methane 5-10 %, ozone 3-7%, however water vapour accounts for a much higher 35-70 %. Also the amount of water vapour in the atmosphere before the wide-spread clearing of forests, one could logically deduce would have been much higher due to the extra transpiration of water vapour through the

Previously the abundant forests were sufficient to buffer this effect however with the large scale clearing of lands throughout the 1900 's and particularly since 1950 this has diminished. This has also paralleled the rise in C02 emissions from industry and may be the reason that it has merely been overlooked. Scientists have focused, as would be expected, on the finer details at the molecular level of the greenhouse effect of global warming and have missed the 'bigger picture ' effects of the earth being heated by the sun 's infra-red rays with each rotation around it 's axis every 24 hours throughout it 's 12 month orbit around the