Whistle Blower Scientist Urges Awareness

Heat results from oscillations of the bonds that hold matter together. These oscillations cause matter, at different temperatures, to radiate thousands of frequencies shown by the shaded areas in the figure. Carbon dioxide, however, only absorbs frequencies shown by the vertical red bars, representing less than 10% of radiated heat. Plus, carbon dioxide molecules make up less than 0.04% of all molecules contained in air. Very few molecules each absorb very little heat.

What you feel as heat results from a broad spectrum of frequencies. An ordinary light bulb, with a filament glowing at 5500 degrees Fahrenheit, emits the broad spectrum shown in yellow, most of which is wasted because your eyes only see the effects of visible radiation. Radiation from a light bulb feels hot and it takes a lot of electricity to heat the filament. A fluorescent bulb or LED, on the other hand, radiates only a narrow range of visible frequencies, feels cool, and consumes much less electricity. Radiation absorbed by carbon dioxide contains little heat and does not feel hot.

Earth’s atmosphere is heated by high-energy solar ultraviolet radiation that causes molecules of certain gases to split apart, converting energy in the bonds directly to heat. Most ultraviolet-B radiation heats the ozone layer, 12 to 19 miles above Earth. When ozone is depleted, more ultraviolet-B reaches Earth, cooling the ozone layer, warming oceans efficiently and warming air by destroying ground-level ozone created primarily from pollution.
“Global warming is happening,” Dr. Ward explains, “but greenhouse gases do not absorb enough energy to be the culprit. Ozone depletion, on the other hand, explains the details of warming clearly, directly, and completely throughout Earth history.”