Why is carbon dioxide classified as a greenhouse gas?

Question

It has lower specific heat capacity than nitrogen or oxygen and its specific heat capacity is far lower than water vapor, methane and other greenhouse gases. It can rise in tempeture quickly with very little heat applied but it also drops in tempeture quickly in the absense of heat. It has nearly the same specific heat constant as aluminum which is a conductor. It looks to me like CO2 would transfer heat to outer space more efficiently than oxygen or nitrogen. Please feel free to give a very detailed and lucid response.

Answer 1

Its not about specific heat capacity.  Its about radiation.  The sun emits infrared radiation that beams down onto the earth where some of it is abosrbed (to heat up the planet), and some of this radiation is reflected back into space.  

Gases like Oxygen and Nitrogen dont react with the radiation significantly.  CO2 does, so more solar radiation becomes trapped in the atmosphere causing the air to warm.

Answer 2

Among the greehouse gases,the two main gases whose contribution to the greenhouse effect is more are water vapour (about 36%) and CO2(about 12 %).

It is not the property of CO2 you have mentioned is important.It is the amount of Co2 that is produced (both man-made and natural) which counts.

Answer 3

Over 97% of all greenhouse gases are natural and there is nothing we can do about them.  For example, India's population of one billion people produces more carbon dioxide just by breathing than is produced by all the coal-burning power plants in the United States.  Moreover, termites are said to produce more carbon dioxide each year than all other living organisms combined.

Environmentalists would have you believe that the greenhouse effect originated in the 20th century.  The greenhouse effect is essential to the survival of life on Earth.  If there were no greenhouse gases, the temperature of the air would be about 32°F (18°C) colder than it is.  In other words, the world would be frozen most of the time.

The two predominant greenhouse gases are water vapour and carbon dioxide.  You produce both of these gases when you exhale.  Between 94½ and 96½ percent of atmospheric carbon dioxide comes from natural sources.Between 94 and 98 percent of the warming effect is due to ordinary water vapour, which comes from the oceans and lakes.