Global Warming: Doubling the CO2 Cools or Heats?
by
Giora Shaviv
Department of Physics, Technion, Haifa
ABSTRACT
We approach the problem of radiative planetary atmospheres from first principles. We discuss the greenhouse effect in planetary atmospheres and explain the formation of a greenhouse, probably the correct detailed explanation for the first time. (We will show some typical examples of incorrect explanations...) We show that the greenhouse effect saturates and explain the greenhouse "runaway" on Venus. We then solve the radiative equilibrium for the Earth's atmosphere and examine its response to a change in the concentration of CO2.