Thursday, January 27, 2005

Study bolsters greenhouse effect theory, solves Ice Age mystery

Another critcism of the global warming projection bites the dust.
"Critics have pointed to the inconsistency as a flaw in scientists' theories of climate change. Scientists have argued that today's global climate change has been caused in part by buildup of CO2 in the atmosphere resulting from fossil fuel emissions.

But, critics have countered, if CO2 truly raises global temperatures, how could an ice age have occurred when a greenhouse effect much greater than today's was in full swing?

The answer: This particular ice age didn't begin when CO2 was at its peak -- it began 10 million years earlier, when CO2 levels were at a low.

'Our results are consistent with the notion that CO2 concentrations drive climate.'"


According to some other peer-reviewed reports we don't have much time left to do something about it.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maybe you should start by capping Mt. St. Helens. After all, it belches CO2 far in excess of that produced through human causes.

Kendall Miller said...

Please permit me to correct you. From the Seattle Times article:

"And they churn out large quantities of carbon dioxide. Though not considered an air pollutant, carbon dioxide is the so-called greenhouse gas that's primarily blamed for global warming.

Compared to man-made sources, though, volcanoes' contribution to climate change is minuscule, Gerlach said.

Mount St. Helens produces between 500 and 1,000 tons a day of carbon dioxide, he estimates.

Nothstein, of the state energy office, says the Centralia coal plant puts out about 28,000 tons a day. Statewide, automobiles, industries, and residential and business heating systems emit nearly 10 times that amount. "

In the sulfur dioxide area however, Mt. St. Helens is about twice the emitter that the coal plant is.