The Earth's Surface Temperature

The idea that human use of fossil fuels is causing a dangerous rise in world temperatures with consequent severe effects on our climate including rising seas, severe storms, flooding and wildfires, has been promoted vigorously for over 40 years. Rising levels of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere are blamed due to the "Greenhouse Effect" of that gas. This view has been dominant now for over 20 years, including by virtually all governments, the United Nations and many other international organizations. Massive efforts are being made to move to renewable energy sources and reduce human Carbon Dioxide production.

Like most I followed this huge shift casually through the mass media largely for many years. But about a decade ago I became concerned about the consequences of this change on our advanced civilization, especially the practicalities of supply of affordable electricity to run our homes, schools, hospitals, industries, workplaces; and of energy supply for transport, the lifeblood of society. I also remembered reading "Ice: A Chilling Scientific Forecast of a New Ice Age" by Sir Fred Hoyle FRS, eminent astrophysicist, in the 1980's. I recalled Sir Fred emphatically dismissing in less than a page on scientific grounds the arguments of those stating carbon dioxide was a dangerous greenhouse gas.

Seven years ago I started researching for my own interest the basic science behind this matter. The modern internet makes this very possible. I gradually realised that many scientific disciplines are involved in determining the factors behind the surface temperature of our Earth. And, while there is a great deal of publicity concerning the shift to renewables and the threat of carbon dioxide, there is very little detailed scientific analysis available for the general public, including children and young people. Rather there are a lot of dogmatic very confident statements expertly presented.

I also found there is a large number of scientists in this field who do not consider carbon dioxide to be a threat, and some of them are discussed here as well as many who do.
This book aims to present to the general reader, including those with no scientific education, as well as children and young people, the basic science behind the Earth's surface temperature, especially the place of carbon dioxide, in a form which hopefully can be generally understood. As the project went on my own opinion clarified, and the latter part of the book therefore attempts to deal with the many consequences of the shift.

But you, the reader, must judge for yourself the result. And it is vital that the general population becomes familiar with the basic science behind this matter so that people everywhere can make up their own minds about the wisdom or folly of these massive steps being taken by their governments. It is insufficient to simply trust one set of "experts".