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The greenies try to say that CO2 causes a forcing function. That CO2 causes a small amount of warming that, in turn, causes more water to evaporate and it is this new water vapor that causes the warming.

My reply is that there is plenty of water in the oceans. If some evaporates why does that not cause warming that causes even more evaporation in a runaway cycle that makes the temperature skyrocket? The answer is that almost all of the IR energy from the sun gets absorbed by water vapor so increasing the amount of water vapor, or CO2, does not increase warming because all of the IR energy was being absorbed anyway. The temperature does not continue to climb because there is a feedback cycle. The long wavelength IR radiated from Earth temperature warm sources is not absorbed by water vapor or CO2 and gets radiated by the atmospheric gasses and the Earth's surface back into space. Water vapor does not continue to climb because of rain. Rain storms release the heat that caused evaporation when the water vapor condenses into water droplets and this longer wavelength IR also radiates in all directions so half radiates into space. The temperature reaches equilibrium that is based on the Sun's output energy which is inconvenient for those who want to control energy use (the means of production).

You have a good reply to their CO2 causes warming causes water vapor causes warming religious hysteria. My take on it is: if warming itself causes a cascade of warming like they claim, then how come it didn't become the unstoppable warming all the other times the earth warmed more than now?

Our Modern Warm Period hasn't gotten as hot as the Medieval Warm Period, which didn't get as hot as the Roman Warm Period, which didn't get as warm as the Minoan Warm Period, etc. Truly the only difference between the Modern Warm Period and the past few ones are that people in the prior ones were smart enough to realize it's a good time to be alive (high crop yields, more predictable rain patterns, and less plagues during warm periods).

“The greenies try to say that CO2 causes a forcing function.”

Thanks for the informative reply.

You say “almost all of the IR energy from the sun gets absorbed by water vapor”. Do you mean incoming IR or IR being radiated from the earth?

Also, are you saying that “long wavelength” IR is radiated from earth, whereas another species of IR comes to us from the sun?

And you’re saying rain removes water vapor from the atmosphere, and you suggest that the more water vapor the more rain, correct?

And you mention the IR radiated by condensing water vapor that produces clouds and rain. Wow!

A good bit of new stuff for me. Thanks again.

Clouds reflect sunlight to outer space. We have a nice negative feedback loop. The earth and oceans warm, for whatever reason, more clouds are created, more energy is reflected into space.

The process also works in reverse. Cooling leads to less cloud formation, causing more sunlight to reach the earth.

One doesn’t need elaborate models to notice the difference between walking in the sun and walking in the shade.