most likely that CO2 is a greenhouse gas that can effect climate but doesn't drive it. Which would be the truth.

@Judah80 I still don't get how co2 can be a so-called greenhouse gas, when plants, presumably inside the greenhouse, are giving off oxygen as they "inhale" the available CO2.

@dmatic

Clearly you don't understand what a greenhouse gas is. It's a gas particle that absorbs and readmits infrared radiation other wise know as heat. There is plenty of literature out there on the subject if you are so inclined. Plants absorb CO2 but in decay they release it. Regardless, this has mo bearing on what's considered a greenhouse gas.

@Judah80 Clearly, I don't. Thank you for the help in understanding. I appreciate it. So, you are saying that CO2 is not a greenhouse gas?

@Judah80 Another question, then, if plants absorb CO2 and then release oxygen while living, and then, when they are dead and decaying, they release CO2 again, do humans and other oxygen breathing life forms release oxygen when they are decaying?

And these gas particles, that are not CO2 that are the greenhouse gases of which you speak, "It's a gas particle that absorbs and readmits infrared radiation other wise know as heat. " (I think you mean re-emit, rather than readmit?) the heat that is re-emitted is not compounded in any way is it? It's still the same heat that was absorbed by the gas particle that is not CO2?

Still seems non-sensical to me....that we need to decrease CO2 levels if it is not CO2 that is the problem. CO2 is necessary for plant growth, correct? And plants are good, not?

@Judah80 Is oxygen, too, bad in your understanding? And is it also suspected in global climate change or global warming as it used to be called?

@dmatic

There is a lot to unpack here and it would take way too long to go into real detail. But here are the basics.

To be a greenhouse gas the molecule must have a strong absorbence in the infrared frequencies of light.To be a greenhouse gas the molecule must have at least three atoms.

CO2 is a greenhouse gas along with H20(water vapor) and methane. There are others but these are the main contributors with H20 being the most prevalent accounting for the vast majority of greenhouse effect. CO2 second most prevalent, methane the third, and all others fourth most. Oxygen is not a greenhouse gas.

In simple terms, the greenhouse effect is when greenhouse gases "trap" heat (infrared light) radiating up from the surface of the planet and redirect it back down. There is a wide spectrum of light coming from the sun. Only part of it is infrared spectrum. Some of this is redirected back up to space by greenhouse gases. But, much of the non infrared passes through hitting the surface of the planet and being absord. This light is then transformed and emitted back up in the form of heat or infrared light which can then be "trapped" by greenhouse gases.

When you breath in oxygen your lungs, through a complicated process I don't want to get into, break it down and create energy. The byproduct of this process is CO2. So you breath in oxygen and breath out CO2. A plant breathes in CO2 and breathes out oxygen. The decomposition of plants and animals leads to the release of CO2. I believe more so with plants, though don't quite me on that.

We can accurately measure the amount of greenhouse gasses in the air. We know we are adding more and more CO2. The question is, what effect will this have? No one really knows. Greenhouse effect is only a small portion of global climate. There are way too many factors for even the most advanced super computers to even be able to predict climate change. When people say the world will be a wasteland in 50 years if we don't stop emitting C02, they are full of shit, they don't and can't know that. That said, we don't know that it won't, just that that scenario is the least likely......probably.

@Judah80 Thank you, Judah80! Appreciate the effort you exerted to explain! Truly. I love the truth of your statement "No one really knows." The so-called "Greenhouse effect" is a theory, not proven, as far as I know. There have always been these gases in the atmosphere, as far as I know. The light spectrum from the sun is what it is, and operates according to the Creator's plan. Personally, I don't believe anybody should be destroying or polluting the environment, but, in truth, it was all here to begin with, I think. I hate CAFO's for example. Too much concentration of "excrement". It works as a "fertilizer" only if it spread around. Same thing with all the round-up and other chemicals being misapplied! I do appreciate the time you took to help me understand what some of these fear mongers are talking about.

@dmatic

Yes re-emit

@dmatic

Greenhouse effect is not theory, it is measurable. It's the reason why Mars is cold with very little greenhouse effect, and Venus is very hot with way too much greenhouse effect. It's not just about how much greenhouse gasses there are but how close they are together. Atmospheric pressure on Mars is .6% of Earth. Atmospheric pressure on Venus is about 90 times that of Earth, or equivalent to being 1km under water. Greater pressure pushes the air molecules closer together and creating a greater greenhouse effect.

The theories about how much effect we are having is what's debatable.