Question about CO2 and warming

Sunsettommy · 2012-05-21T13:15:51.922927+00:00

If the solar insolation is constant, then the only way to warm the Earth is to reduce IR emissions to space for a length of time. The Earth has to absorb more energy. It cannot emit a constant amount of energy to space and increase energy it retains at the same time. Eventually, when the Earth reaches a new equilibrium, it will go back to emitting the same amount of energy that it receives.

If people are claiming that the Earth is emitting at much energy now as it has over the last 2000 years, AND that the energy balance of the Earth is growing, they need to explain where the extra energy is coming from.

I believe, if I'm not mistaken, that the current understanding (from CAGW advocates), is that solar insolation is nearly constant (varies only by 0.1%) but that we are "trapping" some of the energy and that some percentage of that energy, several watts per meter, is not being emitted to space.

I also understand that they believe that CO2 only traps and redirects IR coming from the surface of the Earth. I could be wrong, but I think that the Sun provides more IR energy than the surface of the Earth does. Why the CO2 warming guys don't think the solar IR is also "trapped" and "redirected in all directions" is a mystery to me.

jsusewitz · 3 days

It's because a large number of people use evolution as "proof" that there is no God. If the fundamental assumption of Christianity is that God created man complete, and evolution says that small changes over time caused single celled organisms to evolve into fish, fish into reptiles, reptiles into birds and small furry rodents, then rodents into apes and eventually into humans, where is God in the process? Don't need Him!

So, evolution is used by most of the atheists to argue that God does not exist - thus attacking the entire belief system of religious people. Plate tectonics or electricity is just a description of how the world works, and does not invalidate religion.

Some people have reconciled the evolution vs. creation by saying that God directs evolution, causes it to happen in the way He intends. That's the Intelligent Design theory that is so derided in both Scientific and Religious circles.

camperjohn64 · 3 days

So, those girls both look pretty nice to me. What's your problem with them?

jsusewitz · 3 days

I think the number of Christians who don't believe in Evolution may be smaller than the number of times you hear about Christians fighting Evolution. Yes, there is a number of Christians who have been taught that God created Man. The loss of the idea that God created Man would be a serious blow to their belief system. If that's a lie, then what else is?

Personally, I believe in Evolution. I'm not sure I agree with the whole theory as it is taught today, but I agree with the basic concepts. I am pretty sure that a HUGE number of Christians share my belief in evolution.

On the other hand, people who don't believe in anything they can't touch or measure seem to take a lot of pleasure in attacking the belief systems of others. What do they get out of destroying the faith of others? Some perverse pleasure in spreading unhappiness. People who take pleasure in causing others unhappiness are mentally ill.

While believing in a kind friend in the sky might not be rational, it is in itself harmless. It's not like Arab cultural subjegation of women, for instance, or the killing of daughters in the Asian world. So what if someone wants to claim that a loving God created the world? Is it really that difficult to allow people to have a harmless delusion? I suppose next we have to put all those who believe in UFOs in re-education camps, or torture those who believe our government is run for our benefit.

Jakeron · 3 days

Germ theory and refrigeration.

PersonalTriumph · 4 days

I've driven from Moab to Denver in a 4 wheel drive - I would have loved to had a bike in Moab. You'll have a GREAT time. 4 days is pretty short, though, I could easily spend a couple of weeks riding around the area every day before I wanted to do anything else.

omfgMURPHINATOR · 4 days

Not even remotely. I've got weapons everywhere, but nothing illegal.

chadgiles · 4 days

I wouldn't be too confident that I was dealing with someone who has brains.

Well, as far as snap judgements go, I can't fault you there. I mean, if you're going to judge someone by a glimpse of his attire, then I suppose it doesn't matter what else he has going for him. Also, I'm not sure you have to "deal with him" at all. You are just riders sharing a piece of asphalt for a few seconds, after all. Unless you plan on running into him, you can just pretend you didn't see him at all. That's what the cagers do, right?

I never said anything about the cost of the gear. Depending on the weather, I'd love to have some of the expensive stuff, myself. Not the jacket, not really my style, but some reinforced pants and gloves would be great.

I already have a nice leather jacket that I wear when it's under 80 degrees outside, and chaps when it's chilly. I wear a full face helmet (for the wind and noise protection, mostly), and boots most often. I don't do this because I'm afraid of what will happen if I don't, but because of the protection they give from the elements while I'm riding.

I've also been known to ride in nothing but a pair of cut-offs, a tee-shirt and a helmet.

chadgiles · 4 days

Specifically, two thirds of people motorcycle related deaths were wearing a helmet.

While it is very true that people who wear "all the gear" suffer fewer abrasions than people who were nothing, as the guy in the picture, is it also true that the entire lifetime experience of riding while swathed in gear is better than a lifetime of carefree (or, some would say, careless) riding?

I've done just about every stupid thing there is to do. I've ridden motorcycles for 40 years, flown hang gliders, gone SCUBA diving and swimming with sharks, jumped off of cliffs into shallow water, climbed mountains, crawled about in caves.

I've been a member of the National Speleological Society, the United States Hang Gliding Association, PADI, the NRA, the South Winds Sailing Club, the US Army and Georgia Army National Guard, and a dozen other "dangerous" organizations.

I've found that a bit of care, a bit of training, and a modicum of common sense goes a lot further in keeping one safe than all the safety gear in the world.

I watch people in gear crash their bikes all the time. In my experience, even with kevlar pants, armored jackets, armored gloves, expensive helmets, sun glasses, riding boots, and all that jazz, they still end up going for a ride in the Ambulance as I ride past unharmed. All the gear is no substitue for brains.

chadgiles · 5 days

Two thirds of the people who die on a motorcycle were wearing gear. If you're worried about dying or having your loved ones suffer through your recovery, stop riding. In fact, tens of thousands of people die every year in cars. You should not get in a moving vehicle, ever. Of course, more people die within 10 miles of their home than anywhere else, so you shouldn't go home, either. Damn! You just can win.

chadgiles · 5 days

Ha ha ha ha. That's good. I think I'll go ride my "not really a motorcycle" to lunch today. Of course, I won't really be a biker, because I'm not on a real motorcycle. I guess I didn't need to take that motorcycle license test, either.

Thanks for the entertainment, Typical.

wallaceca · 5 days

Some airplanes have a condition called "adverse yaw" where a rapid roll of the aircraft can cause the descending wing to move forward and the ascending wing move aft (yawing away from the direction of the roll). It's a lot like counter-steering.

wallaceca · 5 days

You say "fair-weather riders" like its a bad thing. I've got news for you, many people enjoy swimming in the summer, but not in the winter when it's freezing cold. Others enjoy hiking in the fall, when the temperatures are nice and cool, and the trees have their pretty fall colors. They may not hike across the desert in the middle of the hottest part of summer, because of the weather.

Don't denigrate people for choosing the best time to partake in an activity.

deck_hand · 6 days

I buy LOTS of small insurance policies for my wife and boys. Then I quit my job and live off of my savings. I do the same things as I do now, or have done in the recent past - ride motorcycles, fly hang gliders, go camping with my kids, SCUBA dive the Keys, etc.

greenymile · 6 days

I "crashed" one time, in 1981, when I was riding my friend's Kawasaki 750. I was following a van too closely in the left lane of a 4 lane highway when the right lane opened up. I whipped around the van on the right, only to find that the right lane was blocked by a huge pile of dirt and gravel where construction was apparently going on. I slammed on the brakes and was almost stopped when my passenger decided to get off the bike.

Had he sat still, I would have been able to come to a safe, if abrupt, stop. He stood on the seat and jumped, forcing the bike to the ground. I was traveling at about 5 miles per hour when the bike hit the ground, and it slid 2 feet. The only damage was scratches to the left side of the highway bar.

Since I got my first bike, 40 years ago, I have never had an injury, nor has anyone who has ridden with me had any injury on my bike.

reddit_user48 · 7 days

Ground effect Vehicle, not airplane. It "flies" but only in ground effect. Because ground effect is so powerful, it can allow a vehicle to move up to 5 times more efficiently than a regular airplane would.

NotJustKneeDeep · 7 days

I have a ride to a college student who had a flat bicycle tire just the other day.

ThreeAeroplanes · 7 days

I've come to the conclusion that sexual preference is a sliding scale. Some people have the selector slid all the way to one side, some all the way to the other. Others have the selector somewhere in between.

I've fully heterosexual, and I'm not completely comfortable with homosexual acts between males. I'm not "repulsed," but certainly not turned on by them. On the other hand, I'm fully comfortable with sex happening in a group situation, where everyone is in contact, so....

Like I said, it's not that everyone is bisexual, but that people aren't "either straight or they are gay." Some are straight, some are straight but curious, some are bi, some are mostly gay but still enjoy the occasional hetero experience, and some are fully, completely homosexual and the thought of heterosexual encounters creep them out. To each his (or her) own.

chazchazam · 7 days

Being intoxicated in public is illegal most everywhere, whether you're on a bike, a lawn mower, or a rocking chair. It's apparently even DUI in a lot of places to be intoxicated near a vehicle that you might be able to drive. So, good luck with that.

lizzzard01 · 8 days

Assuming this is real, simply join a different troop. I'm in the Boy Scouts, not the Girl Scouts (like others have said, a completely different organization) but in my area there are a dozen or more troops within easy driving distance.

Find another troop (ask your district or regional office for contact information) and talk to the leader of that troop. If you post what city you live in, I'm certain people on reddit could find your regional director's name and phone number for you in less than an hour.

Emphx85 · 8 days

it's a beautiful place.

IAmStoya · 8 days

Ya, I agree. Small Gods is probably my favorite of his.

guymanbob · 9 days

Hey, thanks!

only_one_song · 9 days

The first time I cliff-launched my hang glider. Also, the first time I climbed to 1 mile over the ground. Paragliding was pretty cool, too.

deck_hand

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