Global warming skepticism

As a chemical engineer I read extensively all sides of the Global Warming issue. I remain very skeptical that carbon dioxide is the primary cause and that humans either have caused it or can reverse it.

According to the data, the temperature near the surface of the Earth has warmed less than one degree Celsius since 1880. That is not very much.

Carbon dioxide is not a very potent greenhouse gas. Water vapor and atmospheric methane account for most of the greenhouse effect, about 95 percent. Humans account for less than one-tenth of one percent of the greenhouse gases and about three percent of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. If we stopped burning all fossils fuels, including natural gas, coal, wood, gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and the like, it would have very little affect.

There is a growing body of scientific evidence that the irradiance of our sun is the primary cause of global warming. The sun is at a peak in activity, which drives off more cosmic radiation, which in turn causes less cloud cover, which then warms the surface. Studies in Copenhagen and most recently Canada have confirmed this correlation and have suggested we are heading toward a cooling, not warming, period.

As further evidence, NASA recently reported that the polar ice caps on Mars are melting, probably by the same effect. I wonder how Al Gore will try to blame this on humans.

The bottom line is that we should proceed with caution before doing something really stupid. The wrong government policies can easily destroy our economy and way of life.

Bob Hahn