Warming alarmists claim: “Earth’s atmosphere acts like the glass in a greenhouse.”
This is false.
Glass is largely transparent to incoming solar radiation which warms whatever is inside the greenhouse. If the greenhouse had no walls (like the atmosphere), warmed greenhouse air would rise by convection, escape out via the open sides, and heavy cooler air near to the ground would flow in to take its place. This open “Greenhouse” would stay close to outside temperature.
Anti-Greens want to starve plants by restricting CO2
What causes a real greenhouse to warm is the solid transparent roof and the closed walls. The glass roof welcomes incoming solar radiation but the solid enclosure prevents this warmed inside air from escaping.
In a real greenhouse, operators shut vents to prevent warm air from escaping (or open them when they wish to lower the inside temperature). They also pump CO2 into their greenhouses to encourage plant growth (but the Anti-Greens want to starve plants by restricting CO2).
Earth’s atmosphere has no firm roof or walls. Solar heating at the surface just causes that hot air to rise and it cools either by radiation or adiabatic expansion. It is replaced by cooler air.
Earth is not a greenhouse.
Photo: The green glow of aurorae is seen on the horizon in this photo taken from the International Space Station as it passed over Europe in March 2015. New research highlights the influence of Earth’s magnetic field on climate change in the upper atmosphere, including parts of the thermosphere, where aurorae typically occur. Credit: NASA Johnson Space Center, CC BY-NC 2.0
Viv Forbes, Chairman, The Carbon Sense Coalition, has spent his life working in exploration, mining, farming, infrastructure, financial analysis and political commentary. He has worked for government departments, private companies and now works as a private contractor and farmer.
Viv has also been a guest writer for the Asian Wall Street Journal, Business Queensland and mining newspapers. He was awarded the “Australian Adam Smith Award for Services to the Free Society” in 1988, and has written widely on political, technical and economic subjects.
