Why is the greenhouse effect not a phenomenon caused by excess fossil fuels being burned?

Answer 1

The Sun

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The source of most of the light and heat in our solar system is a colossal, ongoing fusion explosion called the Sun. The Sun varies its output in predictable cycles, of varying length. Whenever things are warming up, or cooling down, the first question you should ask yourself is: What is the Sun doing?

There is ample historical evidence of massive climate shifts that have no relationship whatsoever to humanity. Consider the Ice Ages. Humans were not driving SUV's during the Middle Ages, also known as 'The Medieval Warm Period,' yet the Earth was substantially hotter than today. England's was as warm and humid as Southern France, and the English were known for their wine. Today, the English have trouble growing any sort of grapes outside of a greenhouse. A few centuries later, during the 1600's, the Little Ice Age cooled temperatures down dramatically. We are on the tail-end of that recovery at the moment, but we are still nowhere-near as warm as it was during the Medieval Warm Period.

Also, we don't produce that much CO2. CO2 is a tiny percentage of the atmosphere, about 0.039%. Even with all of the gasoline we are burning, there is not enough CO2 to make a real difference. Water vapor and methane are far-more effective at trapping heat.

CO2 is also plant food. Plants with access to more CO2 will grow faster, and healthier. How much of the CO2 we produce with cars is sucked up by increased plant growth?

In general, blaming global warming on fossil fuels just does not make sense, when there are so many other, larger effects out there. On balance, increasing the CO2 levels in the atmosphere might warm the Earth a tiny fraction, but we do not know enough about the system to figure out how it will respond in the realm of cloud formation, plant growth, etc.

A:The enhanced (or accelerated) greenhouse effect which is causing global warming is a phenomenon caused by the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas).

The natural greenhouse effect, supported by the earth's carbon and water cycles, has kept the Earth warm enough for life for millions of years. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere capture and retain the sun's heat, reflected off the earth.

The enhanced, or accelerated, greenhouse effect, scientists believe, is happening now, and is being caused by the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. Not by excess fossil fuels, but by any fossil fuels. All the carbon dioxide released from fossil fuels has been out of the cycle, hidden underground for 300 million years. Releasing it now, by burning, is too much for the natural carbon cycle, so the extra CO2 remains in the atmosphere and is causing global warming.