Why is everyone saying Carbon dioxde is causing global warming? Isn't it Carbon monoxide that is?

Question

Since carbon dioxide is totally natural and recycled by plants, I was convinced the whole "man made global warming" scheme wasn't true.

Well after thinking alittle further into it because something just wasn't adding up... I remembered carbon monoxide! Are people getting the two mixed up? Carbon monoxide is actually what comes out of your car's exaust...NOT carbon dioxide.

CO is what results in the burning of coal, oil, fires etc...

CO2 is what comes out when you exhale...

Why are people referring CO2 as being the cause when its clearly not even what comes out of your car (example) in the first place? Your whole "it not being real (global warming)" theory would not even make sense.. Not saying I believe in it, I just am confused.

Please clear this up for me if I'm missing something.

Answer 1

LOL, be very careful, you might start another cult....

Answer 2

CO2 is made through combustion

CO is made when there isn't enough O2

The products of a combustion reaction are CO2 + H2O

Also, CO is easily turned into CO2 because it reacts easily

Both are natural though

Answer 3

Carbon Monoxide has an affinity for hemoglobin 20 times that of oxygen.  If you breathe it the CO will soon occupy all of the available binding sites on the hemoglobin.  They remain occupied even after the source of CO is removed.  The person dies of tissue hypoxia.  The scientists aren't talking about CO.

The carbon dioxide released by burning fossil fuels and some other fuels releases inhibits the escape of heat from the atmosphere, leading to warming.  That's because of a chemical property of carbon.  The warming is proportional to the CO2, but not in linear fashion.  Each % rise in CO2 gives you a larger % rise in heat.

Answer 4

global warming is a natural state that the earth goes through to heal itsself , and is  a long ongoing process that will eventually change climates ,landstructures, and every living being on this earth, im sure the earth had a warming when there were dinosuars , and they are no longer here as well as the the landstructers ,oceans everything  etc, etc, and what did survive managed to relocate and adapt to the forceful changes. i however do not think we can change, or slow the process the damage has been done , and its not how can we slow this process im thinking , its how will we in the future be able to adapt

Answer 5

Why is everyone saying Carbon dioxide is causing global warming? Because they are ignorant. Changes in solar activity and water vapor levels have a far greater effect on the worlds climate.

Answer 6

Many things come out the exhaust pipe including Co2. As the link says Co2 is ~15% of the output most of the rest is nitrogen and water vapour. Co is usually only 1-2% of the engine output. A catalytic convertors job is to convert things like Co to Co2 before it leaves the exhaust pipe.

Answer 7

greenhouse gases include: water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and CFCs.

when you burn any fossil fuel, it normally forms CO2 and H2O, but where O2 is lacked, it forms CO instead.

really, CO2 is just 1 contributing factor to global warming, and seeing how tons of trees are being cut down, we're producing more CO2 than tree photosynthesizing.

Answer 8

CO2 is natural and monoxide is too. But we are unnaturally releasing these gasses into the atmosphere.

Answer 9

both carbon dioxide (CO2) and monoxide (CO) are greenhouse gasses so can cause global warming except CO is very reactive so whenever it encounters oxygen in the atmosphere it will react to from CO2.

plants take in CO2 (and water) to make glucose which they use to grow. when they use it up it turns back into CO2 and water. the result is a nicely balanced cycle with plants balancing animal emissions. burning fossil fuel is releasing CO2 which has been stored underground for millions of years unbalancing the system.

Answer 10

CO is unstable.  more specifically, CO is very reactive.  as soon as it encounters an O2 molecule, it becomes CO2.

CO only comes out of cars if they are not tuned well.  when you get your car's emissions tested, one of the things they test for is excessive CO, and if there's too much, your car fails.  it's true that "people" are talking about CO2.  but that's because people with advanced college degrees are describing the problem, the reasons that it occurs, and the likely outcomes for the planet if we don't do something to fix the mess we're making.  it sure would be nice if CO2 was not the problem.  but when virtually all of the "honest" science says there's a problem,  and the Nobel Prize Committee says it's the most important thing this year, then i know i'm surely not smart enough to think that they're all wrong.

CO2 is natural.  our environment has evolved to exist with about something like 270 ppmv of it.  now there's something like 380 ppmv of it -- about a 40% increase.

plants absorb CO2, and, using energy from the sun, separate the carbon from the oxygen.  they release the oxygen, and use the carbon to build plant mass.  animals (and decaying plants) take up oxygen and release CO2.  the process has been balanced for hundreds of millions of years.  during the last 500 million years, the levels of O2 and CO2 have varied somewhat.  within the last few million years, there has been almost no variation.  our civilization has evolved to exist in the conditions that have been common during our species lifetime.  in the last 100 years we've changed those conditions.

--  clearly the sun is the source of almost all (not all -- ever been to yellowstone) the heat on the earth.

--  clearly water vapor (clouds) exhibit a very strong insulating force.

what's hard is that you can't see CO2, nor what it does.  for many folks, if they can't see it, then it does not exist.  on the other hand, one hopes that you don't give your kids toys with a lot of lead in them.  or eat lots of ocean fish with high levels of mercury.  even if you can't see either.

i looked a bit, and this is the best description i could find that tells the science involved.  unfortunately, it's not all that simple.  however, if you really do care, i answer email questions.