ot greta thunberg

[KerrAvon]

The science says that the carbon dioxide particles in the air reflect radiated heat from Earth's surface back into the Earth's atmosphere (the greenhouse effect). This simple theory ignores the fact that each molecule of carbon dioxide reflects back into space an equal and opposite amount of radiated heat from the sun - the real source of global warming.

The number of carbon dioxide particles in the air is miniscule compared to the number of atoms of oxygen and nitrogen and molecules of water vapour which make up the vast majority of the content of the atmosphere.

The real 'greenhouse gas' component in the air is water vapour. I remember our geography teacher Fred Kemp describing it as like a blanket when you are in bed. He was talking about water vapour in its natural form of clouds.

Of course, that is how it works at night, but in daytime the clouds reflect back into the atmosphere far more heat from the sun than they reflect back to the Earth's surface. But think about how much water vapour is in the atmosphere compared with carbon dioxide.

Plants need carbon dioxide to grow. Cutting back the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will reduce crop yields at a time when we need to increase yields to feed the growing human population every one of whom exhales a considerable amount of carbon dioxide every year. I can see the answer formulating in some people's minds!

No. Carbon Dioxide molecules do not reflect heat - they absorb it the re-emit it

The sun pumps out visible light, which passes fairly easily through the atmosphere. That light warms the surface of the earth causing it to emit longer wavelength infra-red radiation. Greenhouse gases like Carbon Dioxide are good at absorbing infra-red energy and re-emitting it allowing it to further heat the surface of the earth.

Increasing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere causes more infra-red to be captured and more heating.

Increasing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere can increase plant growth - many commercial glasshouse farmers raise the level of it artificially. That isn't an argument for not acting on climate change, however. The effect is likely to be massively outweighed by the destruction of crops that will follow from droughts, flooding and other extreme weather conditions induced by having a more energetic atmosphere.

[Scum-Triumphant]

It was quite cringeworthy watching her read the speech and miss the cues for the upset reactions.