Water vapor is the most important "greenhouse gas". Man's contribution to atmospheric CO2 from
the burning of fossil fuels is small, maximum 4% found by carbon isotope mass balance
calculations. The "Greenhouse Effect" of this contribution is small and well within natural climatic
variability. The amount of fossil fuel carbon is minute compared to the total amount of carbon in
the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. The atmospheric CO2 lifetime is about 5 years. The
ocean will be able to absorb the larger part of the CO2 that Man can produce through burning of
fossil fuels. The IPCC CO2 global warming model is not supported by the scientific data. Based
on geochemical knowledge there should be no reason to fear a climatic catastrophe because of
Man's release of the life-governing CO2 gas. The global climate is primarily governed by the
enormous heat energy stored in the oceans and the latent heat of melting of the ice caps, not by
the small amount of heat that can be absorbed in atmospheric CO2; hence legislation of
"CO2 taxes" to be paid by the public cannot influence on the sea level and the global climate.
Acknowledgements: Technological Oriented Studies, University of Oslo, for financial support; Dr.
Zbigniew Jaworowski for scientific discussions and contributions.
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Last Updated June 20, 1997; April 15, 2008