Can somebody confirm this?

Question

quote: Over 90% of greenhouse gas is from nature and not from man! Active vulcanoes and major plate shifts release billions of cubic feet of greenhouse gas.

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I know it's water vapours but I just want to know the actual percentage.

Answer 1

Actually it is closer to 85% according to a Scientific American article I read a few years ago - the kicker is that while the Earth had no problem sequestering (or storing) the normal amount of carbon,  the extra burden of man made carbon and the destruction of the sequestering capacity (mostly rain forests) the planet cannot "digest" the extra carbon being generated.

Interestingly, I am old enough to remember the 1970's when the current panic was that all of the man made smoke and particulate matter from coal fired plants and slash and burn farming was going to cool the earth from shadowing effect of the smoke etc.

Personally I think the planet is warming, but I also think that natural compensatory mechanisms will kick in sooner or later.   By which time I will be long dead.

Answer 2

You'd be correct.

The fact is that the earth has went through at least one frigid time in the past and through at least 1 warming in the past. The proof is in the fossils for the warming. It could have been warmer with the earths atmosphere being under more pressure than we now have. And this would explain the tropical environment needed to support the dinosaurs and their food supply. Whether you believe in God or not, there is a whole lot of what goes on in the earth's environment that we will not understand and for sure will never be able to predict. Assuming we don't go stupid and push the nuke button.

I personally have a hard time believing man is responsible for 10% of the greenhouse gases. As this is only an estimate from someones model My model says well under 5% and Im a layperson.

If the estimates were given before the Montrial Protocal where we gave up the production of Refrigerant 12 and the clorene gas it contains to "save the O2" as to what the volcanoes and nature itself was doing about putting CO, CO2, and Compounds of Clorene in the air the estimates at that time 1995 I believe were in the 90% range but no one could research them because of the "supposed hole in the ozone layer over Anartica" Now we know the ozone hole or thickness opens and closes over time every year. Sometimes it closes more sometimes not.

But Our all wise and knowing EPA told us working with the clorene compound gas R12 "well we cant do anything about the volcanoes and the nature of the earth poluting the air, but we can do something about what we do to it".

Since I got this fine data from the experts at the EPA I figure its just another way for us to loose our freedom and "make us more equal" to the poorer countries. After all we cant do anything about nature. And if the models are off the other way the doo-gooders for the enviroment would be publishing the news so I figure its either 90% or a lot less and no one fighting for the enviorment wants to discuss this inteligently. They just want action not facts right or wrong just action. Keeping the profits out of the CORP's and crippeling the ecconomy of the industrialized world.

I have heard of Carbon Cards in Great Brittan. Once you've used your share of carbon credits I dont know what you do, you sit home I guess. I suppose it might be easier for terrorists to hit you if you cant move. And most of them are from developing or 3rd world countries where they can depend on like minded people to take care of the family they leave behind.

Now if you want to believe what "experts say" and deduct fudge factors from their equasion, then factor back in the truth, 95% sounds closser than 90%.

If this is really a man caused problem and if their really is a problem man can correct, the developing countries will take up any slack that the industrialized nations give. Thus no effect.

Answer 3

When you consider that there are 800 billion tons of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. And that during the Jurassic, the level of CO2 was ten times what it is today. Man has an effect but very small. Annual production of CO2 world wide is 1.2% of current amounts already in the atmosphere.

When Mt Pinatubo erupted in 1990's, it put more SO2 into the atmosphere in 3 days than the USA produces in a year. While you can find figures from almost anywhere to justify whatever, figures from the USGS and the UN tend to have more reliability.

Answer 4

It's a bit of a red herring if you're just asking about water vapor, since the residence time of water vapor in the atmosphere is relatively short and water vapor is self-regulating.  If you're asking about CO2 then people release much more CO2 in the atmosphere than volcanoes do.