OPINION:
Inaccuracy of computer models in the 2007 United Nations International Panel on Climate Change report was the least of the problems with that report (“Into the ozone with the O Force,” Comment & Analysis, Tuesday). The fundamental premise was false.
The premise and the models were based on heat reflection from a layer of greenhouse gases, largely carbon dioxide, floating on top of the Earth’s atmosphere. Any high school chemistry student knows that carbon dioxide is half again heavier than air. Apparently, there were no high school graduates on the panel, and too few among those hyping carbon dioxide in recent years as the cause of global warming. So-called Kyoto greenhouse gases are, with only one exception, heavier than air. All together, they compose less than 1 percent of our atmosphere. Not much carbon dioxide is found in a greenhouse because the plants eat it.
To find a true and significant greenhouse gas in the Earth’s atmosphere, that same high school student would suggest simply looking for water vapor.
GEORGE F. STEEG
Potomac Falls, Va.
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