Dmytry comments on 6 Tips for Productive Arguments - Less Wrong

30 Post author: John_Maxwell_IV 18 March 2012 09:02PM

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Comment author: Dmytry 23 March 2012 04:05:24AM *  -2 points [-]

Nah, I'm speaking of the anthropogenic global warming vs no anthropogenic global warming 'debate', not of 1 degree vs 3 degrees type debate. For the most part, the AGW debate is focussed on the effect of CO2, sans the positive feedbacks, as the deniers won't even accept 1 degree of difference.

Speaking of which, one very huge positive feedback is that water vapour is a greenhouse 'gas'.

Comment author: Nornagest 23 March 2012 05:12:25AM *  2 points [-]

Why the quotes? Water vapor's a gas. There's also liquid- and solid-phase water in the atmosphere in the form of clouds and haze, but my understanding is that that generally has a cooling effect by way of increasing albedo.

Might be missing some feedbacks there, though; I'm not a climatologist.

Comment author: Dmytry 23 March 2012 05:47:32AM *  -2 points [-]

Well, thats why quotes, because it is changing phase there. The clouds effect on climate btw is not so simple; the clouds also reflect the infrared some.

Comment author: Eugine_Nier 23 March 2012 04:28:30AM 1 point [-]

I think the debate, and certainly the policy debate, is (in effect) about the catastrophic consequences of CO2.