Reply To: Cap and Trade

[HermannH]

I suppose you copied from this news group post:
http://groups.google.com/group/sci.environment/browse_thread/thread/fe1c81de19d19899?pli=1

The world’s first and most prominent PhDs in Climatology?
http://www.desmogblog.com/timothy-f-ball-tim-ball:

… over the course of his career Ball published four pieces of original research in peer-reviewed journals on the subject of climate change. Ball has not published any new research in the last 11 years.

And there seems to be some controversy about his credentials. http://scienceblogs.com/deltoid/2006/06/dear_tim_ball_sue_me.php :

According to Ball’s website he was not a climatology professor at the University of Winnipeg for 28 years. And how could he have? He did not even have an entry-level PhD until 1983, that would allow even Assistant Professor status. During much of the 28 years cited, he was a junior Lecturer who rarely published, and then spent 8 years as a geography professor.

Ball sued over the newspaper article where this comment was printed and later ended up withdrawing the suit:
http://www.desmogblog.com/tim-ball-vs-dan-johnson-lawsuit-documents
The world’s first and most prominent PhDs in Climatology? I think not!

Sorry to be so negative about an individual, but you asked for it. Back to the science. If you scroll down you will find this response to his post:
http://groups.google.com/group/sci.environment/msg/2205be33438972f5
A quick web search comes up with this page that picks apart a similar argument here:
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2006/01/calculating-the-greenhouse-effect/

The main points are these:
1. CLIMATE MODELS DO INCLUDE WATER VAPOR
2. If you remove all water vapor and clouds you still absorb about 34% of the long wave radiation, and conversely, if you only have water vapor and clouds you absorb 85%. Thus the effect of water vapor and clouds is between 66 and 85%, which is quite different from the often quoted 95%. And what is the ‘by volume’ qualifier all about, except to confuse the reader?