Greenhouse Gases

Why are the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide, HOH vapor, and methane important for human survival on Earth? If they are good for our existence, shouldn’t having more carbon dioxide, etc., in the atmosphere be encouraged?

Answer

The greenhouse gases trap most of the infrared, and this additional energy helps heat Earth to its present average by vegetation, land animals, and sea organisms such as plankton, the thermal energy input from additional heat sources such as mantle transport of thermal energy from the interior of Earth, and the effects of the bombardment by cosmic rays from the galaxy and beyond.

Many natural temperature records have been mined in the past few decades that provide the history of temperature changes, so fluctuations in average temperature, a vaguely defined concept, are not new. The claim seems to be that the rate of increase of the average temperature is among the greatest ever experienced on Earth. Whether this hypothesis is verified in the near future will take better models, meaning greater computing capability and more included physical and chemical processes and/or a definitive, unambiguous example.