I just now realized I made a minor error in my post above. I implied that the the greenhouse mechanism was the
only mechanism by which CO2 affected Earths surface temperature. Carbon dioxide, according to NASA, is net cooling in the outer atmosphere by a different mechanism.
"Global Warming," is a more useful term than "climate change," because the climate is always cycling between warmer and cooler periods. With all the talk of global warming, the general public has got the idea that CO2 is the only important component of our planet's atmosphere that moderates surface temperature. Even more distorting is the idea that the greenhouse effect is the only important mechanism for moderating the temperature. In truth, the trace levels of CO2 in our atmosphere are critical to both plant life directly and animal life indirectly, but CO2 is a minor player when it comes to moderating the Earth's surface temperature. Just how minor, is an area of disagreement among atmospheric physicists. Prior to the period of intense research into the role of CO2, we did not have enough data and observations to understand surface temperature moderation very well. James Hansen is credited with getting the CO2 question into the national, and now, international spotlight. He deserves credit for rousing enough interest in atmospheric physics to facilitate an increase in funding for global warming studies. Those studies are why our knowledge of the mechanisms that moderate our planets surface temperature has been greatly advanced from what it was thirty years ago. Sadly, Hansen , and others too, became emotionally involved in their own work and the conclusions they drew -- quite prematurely as it turns out!
Hansen, and others who have fallen into the same trap, are no longer capable of dispassionate science. This is not as bad as it sounds. Scientists are human, and it is impossible to divorce the human element from scientific pursuits. The debate however should not involve the lay public, nor politicians, nor the media. The debate should be strictly between the science protagonists. Hansen, Salby, Shaviv, Miskolczi and other qualified scientists. It should not include politicians and the media. I am sorry to have to say this, but the fault lies mainly with Hansen. He is like the a warring spouse who looks to the children for support.
Degeneration of a scientific discussion into ad hominem attacks and attempts to discredit scientists whose opinions are out of favor with the public by questionable attacks on their professional competence is regrettable and does nothing to advance science. Strong disagreement, even to the point of adamantcy,
when kept within the bounds of disagreeing scientists , with the public and the politicians being kept out, can be helpful in pushing the warring scientists to a correct conclusion. The Winstein-Brown argument* over the structure of non-classical carbocations is a fine example of how debate, no matter how heated, can lead to the correct answer. Winstein was finally shown to be correct, but who knows how much longer would it have taken to settle the argument if The United Nations, and the media, and the politicians had all been involved?
There are numerous papers** in the peer reviewed literature which report both observations and theoretical studies that are inconsistent with Hansen's Hypothesis. As soon as these papers receive any attention beyond a small group of atmospheric science insiders, their authors are subjected to ad hominem attacks, and unbelievable vendettas such as demands that the protagonist's name be stricken from Wikipedia! This is less violent than what was done to those out of favor in the Spanish Inquisition, but otherwise it is little different than was the treatment afforded religious heretics of prior centuries: How dare you suggest the Earth orbits the Sun! Ninety-seven percent of everyone agrees the Sun orbits the Earth. And to prove it, I'll show you one more time my diagram of the Sun Orbiting the Earth.
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*
https://www.chemistryworld.com/opin...ation-a-classic-case-of-conflict/6368.article
**I notice that most of the authors of these papers studiously avoid taking on Hansen's hypothesis directly whenever they can avoid it. The authors want to stick to the science and leave the politics to others. They certainly do not want to become targets of the "Inquisition." Yet some whose data and arguments are unavoidably damaging to climate change religion will have no choice other than to become a target of the Inquisition. Hundreds of Bloggers will pounce, inventing arguments on the fly as to how the published work can not possibly be correct, and is the work of someone already thoroughly discredited by 97% of climate scientists.