Is CO2 the only culprit of Global Warming?

Question

This is a serious question please no global warming is not real end of story answers. With all of the industry and pollution in the world is CO2 the only chemical that causes warming or climate change. Also if you are able to find the information. What are the changes from the norm of the other chemicals. The only one that comes to mind for me is methane.

The reason that I ask this question is that CO2 has become the media's scape goat for anything pollution related and CO2 is not neccessarily a bad thing since it does bolster plant growth which is very good considering how many trees we have cut down. Are there any other criminal chemicals out there that may be we should also be focusing on.

Answer 1

Of course not.  In fact there's no correlation between co2 and temperatures.

The Sun has the greatest impact on the Earths warmth.

Answer 2

The atmosphere is only .035% CO2. Water vapor is much higher than that plus the amount of methane being released by swamps and bogs is a much higher rated "greenhouse" gas than CO2.

Actually, from the newest United Nations reports, the temperatures are starting to go down. Add to that the newest report from the Russian News and Information Agency says the temperature is dropping. I guess Al Gore is going to need a new job.

I guess the truth always hurts when it comes to the purveyors of hysteria.

Answer 3

Above, the Earth is moving away from the sun as the moon is moving away from us.  We need to find a way to stop the sun from shining.  That is the best way, that or get everyone to hold their breath for a day or two.  Both would work.

Answer 4

No, there are lots of other greenhouse gasses, CO2 is simply the largest current contributor and the easiest to control for the moment:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_...

Unfortunately black soot may contribute almost as much to the global problem as CO2:

Black carbon pollution emerges as major player in global warming - PhysOrg

http://www.physorg.com/news125500721.htm...

"Black carbon, a form of particulate air pollution most often produced from biomass burning, cooking with solid fuels and diesel exhaust, has a warming effect in the atmosphere three to four times greater than prevailing estimates, according to scientists in an upcoming review article in the journal Nature Geoscience."

"Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego atmospheric scientist V. Ramanathan and University of Iowa chemical engineer Greg Carmichael, said that soot and other forms of black carbon could have as much as 60 percent of the current global warming effect of carbon dioxide, more than that of any greenhouse gas besides CO2."

Clearly developed countries cannot solve the problem simply be curbing their share of CO2 releases.  It's a much broader problem that will require a multi-faceted response from all parties.

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That doesn't take CO2 off the hook though.  Here's one example of what happened in the past due to rising CO2 levels:

Climate Model Links Warmer Temperatures to Permian Extinction

http://www.physorg.com/news6003.html

"The CCSM indicated that ocean temperatures warmed significantly at higher latitudes because of rising atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas. The warmer temperatures reached a depth of about 10,000 feet (4,000 meters), interfering with the normal circulation process in which colder surface water descends, taking oxygen and nutrients deep into the ocean.

As a result, ocean waters became stratified with little oxygen, proving deadly to marine life. Because marine organisms were no longer removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, that, in turn, accelerated warming temperatures.

"The implication of our study is that elevated [carbon dioxide] is sufficient to lead to inhospitable conditions for marine life and excessively high temperatures over land would contribute to the demise of terrestrial life," the authors conclude.

Permian–Triassic extinction event

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permian-Tri...

It was the Earth's most severe extinction event, with up to 96 percent of all marine species and 70 percent of terrestrial vertebrate species becoming extinct. Because approximately 25 percent of species survived the event, the recovery of life on earth took significantly longer than after other extinction events. This event has been described as the "mother of all mass extinctions".

Answer 5

Global warming is a myth.  The Earth is getting hotter because it's been progressivley moving towards the Sun since it was created.  It's in a decaying orbit.

Answer 6

Nitrogen, Water Vapor, and Methane all are in greater abundance than CO2, and all are considered "Green House Gases".  Human contribution of CO2 is less than 1% of the CO2 piece as it is...so the human contribution to CO2 is actually equivalent to an ant trying to move a boulder...its just not feasible that the ant will have ANY impact on the boulder...

interestingly enough, did you know that there has never even been ONE single study conducted that rules out NATURAL causes as a source of temperature variation???  thats because it can't be ruled out, because natural causes are what drives the globe...not un insignificant specs.

Answer 7

Of course CO2 is not the only culprit. CO2 is just one of the greenhouse gasses, but it is the one we can reduce if we are smart about it. Plants can only absorb so much CO2.

Answer 8

There is a natural balance. CO2 is essential for life of course. Most of it is in solid form and does not contribute to the overall atmosphere (coal, gas). But when you burn buttloads of it continuously for over a century all across the planet it becomes a pollutant because you are meddling with the natural construct of the atmosphere. It disrupts the natural cycle because the extra CO2 can't be absorbed by plants quick enough to balance out, and it becomes like a blanket trapping heat energy.

Answer 9

i have checked these wiki, they are spot on afaik

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_...

here's a list of the man-made ones;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPCC_list_o...

Answer 10

No, it's not.  CO2 is responsible for about 65% of global warming due to human emissions, and human emissions are responsible for approximately 80-90% of the warming over the past 30 years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Radia...

http://globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:C...

So overall, CO2 is approximately half the culprit.  The other half is mainly other greenhouse gases (like methane) and some solar changes.

Answer 11

No, just the main one.  There are other "greenhouse gases", but CO2 is the most important now.

That could change if global warming starts to release large amounts of methane frozen in soil right now.  If that happens- big trouble.

Answer 12

AOX emissions are just as bad as CO2