Tuesday, March 4, 2014

An overlooked fact about the burning of fossil fuels

When you burn a fossil fuel, there is more than just carbon dioxide that is being produced.  As some may point out, there are other pollutants, but that's not all.  There is also water being produced in every instance for every fossil fuel in existence.  So, why is water not a pollutant?  Carbon dioxide is considered a pollutant, but not water.  Carbon dioxide is necessary for photosynthesis.  It is "plant food".  So is water.  Without these two ingredients in abundance, there can be no life as we know it on Earth.

I think the reason that water isn't considered as a pollutant is that nobody would believe it.  People will believe carbon dioxide is a pollutant, because you can't breathe it.  But you can drink water.  You can water your plants with it.  You take baths in it.  It rains on you.  You can never convince people that water is a pollutant.

But water is more a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.  The thing that make the Earth hospitable is not its atmosphere, per se, but its oceans.  The atmosphere makes the oceans possible, so don't underestimate the importance of the atmosphere.  But as a factor in the climate, water is far more important.

I remember from my youth the properties of water.  I used to swim a lot in my youth.  When the sun went down, the water stayed warm for many hours afterward.  Water retains heat very well.  You can check it out yourself some time.  On a warm day, wait until about 10 pm, then go out to a swimming pool and put your hand in.  The air temperature will be much cooler than the water.  Try it.

You know that there's a temperature differential because that's what make ocean breezes possible.  The warm air displaces the cooler air.  The warmer air comes from the land, which heats the atmosphere.  The atmosphere will heat up faster than the water, so the air over the water is cooler.  In the night time, the situation is reversed.  The air over the water is warmer than the cooler air over the land.  This creates a temperature differential that makes the wind blow.  That is also how you know that the water is more important than the air, of which carbon dioxide is a part.

The important fact of water's importance should not be overlooked in the discussion about so-called climate change.  For if you are going to regulate carbon dioxide, you may as well as regulate water.  But if you aren't going to regulate water, then why regulate carbon dioxide?


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