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  Non-witty comment

  I thought I'd elaborate on why exactly Friedman's explanation of global warming physics is wrong, in case anyone was curious.  (Even if he meant it as a loose analogy, it was not a good analogy, in my opinion.)  

  Friedman described the atmosphere as having an upper cloud layer and a lower cloud layer.  He then said CO2 absorbs sunlight, which is not correct--it absorbs heat radiated by the Earth.  Then he said the absorbed heat melts the upper clouds, increasing the humidity and resulting in a thickening of the lower clouds, which trap more heat.  The problem with this description is that CO2 traps heat directly, not indirectly via clouds.  Changes in cloudiness due to global warming could affect the climate, but whether they'll have a net warming or cooling effect is uncertain.  And CO2 doesn't exactly melt clouds in one layer and thicken clouds in another.

  Also, actual clouds work in the opposite way of what Friedman described--high clouds trap heat, while low clouds reflect sunlight, cooling the climate.
  On The Mustache on David Letterman posted 1 year, 8 months ago 10 Responses