I have been reading about a really interesting debate going on in the study of climate change. Apparently some people don't see water vapor as worthy of mentioning in the debate on global climate change. An interesting exemption considering most scientists agree that water vapor accounts for 65% to 99% of the greenhouse effect. There is little agreement on the exact percent so I apologize for the huge difference, but pretty much everyone I could find agrees that it is the main greenhouse gas. In fact, the EPA had expressed interest in having water vapor classified as a pollutant admitting that it is the primary greenhouse gas, and seeks to tax water vapor emissions from human activities. These human activities are of course insignificant when compared to the massive amount of ocean water that evaporates every day. I guess the question becomes whether our contributions of other greenhouse gases such as CO2 and methane are causing a significant and unnatural change in our atmosphere. In my opinion (which is in no way credible) the effects of such gases seem to be overstated, especially when you take into account the fact that the majority of CO2 emission is natural, and the CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere have fluctuated wildly as far back as we can see. Interesting topic, good luck finding an impartial source though. For a fun exersize go to the EPA website and try and find anything more than a brief mention of water vapor as a greenhouse gas. Notice how everything says greenhouse gas "emissions."
www.epa.gov
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