It was my understanding that greenhouse gases are only those which have the
particular characteristic of absorbing "the wavelengths of reflected
radiation." It was told to me that only specific gasses, not water vapor,
have this characteristic. Comments? Disagreements?
This is what I wrote in "The Rebirth of Cold Fusion":
The problem of global warming predominantly results from the combustion of
fossil fuels. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
"fossil fuels burned to run cars and trucks, heat homes and businesses, and
power factories are responsible for about 98 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide
emissions, 24 percent of methane emissions, and 18 percent of nitrous oxide
emissions." These are the so-called "greenhouse gasses."
Carbon dioxide is the greatest culprit. It is odorless and invisible; for
the most part, it does its damage without our awareness. Carbon dioxide and
other greenhouse gasses collect in the upper part of the Earth's atmosphere
and remain trapped there. When solar radiation passes through the Earth's
atmosphere, most of this radiation is absorbed by the earth's surface.
However, some of the solar radiation is reflected back to the atmosphere.
Ordinarily, part of this radiation would continue onward to outer space,
and part would be reflected back to earth.
However, as a blanket of greenhouse gasses accumulates in the upper
atmosphere, it absorbs the wavelengths of reflected radiation and converts
it into thermal energy. The gasses remains trapped, upsetting the delicate
energy balance as the Earth makes its yearly journey around the sun, and
contributing to an increase in global temperature worldwide.
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