/Frank_Sinatra_wannabe

What scientific report or study do you base this on? You never answer this question. This is a very complex issue and it’s difficult to discuss it unless you are more specific.

Yes, methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2, but from what I understand there is over 200 times more CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere than methane. CO2 levels are 380 parts per million while methane levels are 1.75 ppm. So the amount of warming methane contributes is about 28% of the warming CO2 contributes.

What’s interesting is that scientists can actually determine exactly where the added CO2 is coming. Carbon has two stable isotopes (atomic weights), C12 and C13. Plants prefer to use C12 over C13 (it takes slightly less energy to bond to C12 than to C13), so the naturally occurring ratio of the two isotopes is skewed toward C12 in plants. All fossil fuels were originally plants, and so if the C12/C13 ratio in the atmosphere is changing toward increased concentrations of C12, then the source of the new CO2 must be plants. In addition, since animal respiration isn’t enough to skew the C12/C13 ratio and simultaneously affect the concentration of CO2 and oxygen in the atmosphere, the source must be fossil fuels. You can read this for yourself in the IPCC Working Group I Report (pages 138-139): http://ipcc-wg1.ucar.edu/wg1/Report/AR4WG1_Pub_Ch02.pdf

Your assertion about the sun is contradicted by direct satellite measurements that find no rising trend since 1978. In fact this study from 2007 concludes:

“the observed rapid rise in global mean temperatures seen after 1985 cannot be ascribed to solar variability, whichever of the mechanisms is invoked and no matter how much the solar variation is amplified.”

http://www.pubs.royalsoc.ac.uk/media/proceedings_a/rspa20071880.pdf

Sorry for the long response. Please let me know what your sources are.

Partly, John, it is meant to highlight the silliness of the whole Man is the cause of Global Warming.

Please expalin.