Life, science and knowledge have their ups and downs. First, John Tyndall demonstrated how greenhouse gases absorb thermal radiation in 1861. Then, in 1896 Svante Arrhenius concluded this was a good idea because it averted another ice age. Now we have Knut Angström saying the threat of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is baloney. Let us hear what he has to say.
What Knut Angström Concluded in 1900
Knut Angström was a logical thinker and he did not jump to conclusions. When he lacked scientific instruments to measure phenomena, he invented devices that stood the test of time for half a century.
The main thrust of his conclusion was the effect of carbon was insignificant compared to abundant water vapor, which it overlapped. Generally speaking, scientific opinion concurred on the basis there was so much more water, the discussion was academic. Of course, the situation was different a century later, but that’s another story.
Support for Knut Angström’s Theory
Angström’s research findings remained accepted thinking until carbon emissions began to spin out of control by 1927. For example, Charles Greeley Abbot wrote that ozone was a more important radiator than carbon dioxide in 1920.
He went as far as recommending only monitoring ozone levels in the atmosphere. In his defense, we did not yet have a way of measuring carbon dioxide accurately. The primitive instruments available suggested levels were stable. Hence, despite best efforts including by Knut Angström, we missed yet another opportunity to detect global warming early.
But there were rebels, there always are. In 1931, Edward Olson Hulburt objected. He famously wrote, “Calculation shows that doubling or tripling the amount of the carbon dioxide of the atmosphere increases the average sea level temperature by about 4° and 7°K, respectively.
“Halving or reducing to zero the carbon dioxide decreases the temperature by similar amounts.” However, his work went unnoticed for decades. We continue our story of global warming in a few days, after we absorb yet another opportunity missed to correct it.
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Preview Image: Yokohama Global Warming
