Man made global warming explained - closing the blinds

TL;DR

This paper explains the principles of man-made global warming using a simple model, demonstrating that increased greenhouse gases can account for observed temperature rises, making the science accessible to the general public.

Contribution

It provides a simplified explanation of global warming mechanisms, validating the greenhouse effect with a straightforward model that aligns with observed temperature increases.

Findings

Simple model captures main warming principles

Greenhouse gases explain observed temperature rise

Supports man-made global warming hypothesis

Abstract

One of the big problems of the age concerns 'Global Warming', and whether it is 'man-made' or 'natural'. Most climatologists believe that it is very likely to be the former but some scientists (mostly non-climatologists) subscribe to the latter. Unsurprisingly, the population at large is often confused and and is not convinced either way. Here we try to explain the principles of man-made global warming in a simple way. Our purpose is to try to understand the story which the climatologists are telling us through their rather complicated general circulation models. Although the effects in detail are best left to the climatologists' models, we show that for the Globe as a whole the effects of man-made global warming can be demonstrated in a simple way. The simple model of only the direct heating from the absorption of infrared radiation, illustrates the main principles of the science involved. The predicted temperature increase due to the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere over the last century describes reasonably well at least most of the observed temperature increase.