Atmospheric
  • Reads 245
  • Votes 39
  • Parts 22
  • Time 1h 3m
  • Reads 245
  • Votes 39
  • Parts 22
  • Time 1h 3m
Ongoing, First published Nov 07, 2023
The eruption of Tonga's underwater volcano, in January 2022, vaporized 
150 million tons of seawater and shot a geyser of super heated steam through the stratosphere. The water vapour, a strong greenhouse gas, may increase global temperatures for at least five years. 

For the past 800,000 years, atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) was about 290 parts per million (ppm).  Many people believe the current atmospheric CO2 concentration of 415 ppm is causing global warming. (While commercial greenhouses use 1000 to 1500 ppm of CO2 to optimize plant growth).  

But . . . there is no correlation between temperature and atmospheric CO2 over the past 500 million years, so CO2 does not appear to directly affect the temperature.

And . . . the automatic thermostatic effect of a small increase in cloud cover could offset the effect of greenhouse gases by reflecting more solar radiation back into space.

Between 717 and 635 million years ago, the Earth was probably covered in ice and snow. However, between 56 and 34 million years ago the average temperature near the poles was 25°C warmer than it is today.

The Little Ice Age devastated harvests in Europe from 1300 to 1850 CE, causing starvation and sickness.  Wood was expensive so, in London, England, people began burning coal despite the smoke and dirt. 


But . . . almost everyone on the planet is five times wealthier than their ancestors.  In the past 70 years, the average life span increased from about 40 years to more than 80 and the average world income grew from less than $3 to more than $33 per person per day.

This explosive growth in productivity (largely as a result of fossil fuels) was responsible for astonishing improvements in health, education, and longevity. 

Eliminating fossil fuels will cause massive declines in productivity but the average person is still expected to be four times richer by 2100 CE despite disruptions.   

Read WEALTH at  https://www.wattpad.com/user/duncmacphun
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N.Otto was selling 634, 3 hp piston engines a year by 1875 and, between 1908 and 1927, Ford sold over 4 million Model T automobiles. In 1903 the Wright Brother's engine produced 1 horsepower for each 17 pounds of engine weight. In 1943, the Rolls-Royce Merlin aero engine developed 2,000 hp; 1.2 hp for each pound. W.von Braun developed the V-2 long-range rocket used in 1943. Also during World War 2, A.Franz, mass-produced the Jumo 004 turbojet for German aircraft. In 1945, the V-1 cruise missile was powered by a pulsejet engine with virtually no moving parts. The Lockheed "Blackbird" was the fastest manned ramjet; capable of Mach 2 to 4 supersonic speeds. On October 4, 1957 the satellite Sputnik 1 proved that the Soviets were capable of reaching any point in the USA with nuclear weapons. The Syncom 3 communication satellite was placed in geostationary orbits over the Pacific on August 19, 1964. In July 1969 N.Armstrong and B.Aldrin landed a Lunar Module on the moon. WHO THE HELL ARE WE? is a series of short books and videos describing the evolution of civilization. Almost everyone on the planet is five times wealthier than their ancestors only 50 years ago. This astonishing phenomenon has also improved health, education, and longevity. The cause; an explosive growth in ideas and productivity. It began when we learned to control fire, evolved articulate speech and stumbled onto the way to create infinite wealth; free trade. The discovery of agriculture made us richer but we also learned how to destroy wealth. Great civilization grew up but then disappeared leaving only incredible ruins and ideas. Later books detail some of the ideas and developments that increased the average life span from about 40 years to more than 80 and the average world income from less than $3 to more than $33 per person per day (and to $140 per day in some countries).
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Atoms & Light cover
Combustion cover
Engineering cover
Ascension cover
steam cover
Magical Dawn: A New Era on 2025 Earth cover
Supernovae and Life cover
Innsania 2C /Lucy pov/ cover
Wealth cover

Atoms & Light

12 parts Complete

In 1657, Otto von Guericke pumped the air from two hemispheres and eight horses could not pull them apart. Amontons found a volume of air shrank as the temperature fell and realized that it would become zero. In 1774, Joseph Priestley isolated oxygen while Lavoisier released hydrogen and burned this with oxygen to make water. In 1832, Michael Faraday built the first electric motor and generator. John Newlands noticed similar chemical properties in a list of elements demonstrating the existence of unknown elements. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek invented a microscope with 300 times magnification allowing him to see bacteria, spermatozoa and red blood cells. In 1605, Kepler concluded that all the planets moved in elliptical orbits with the sun at one focus of the ellipse. Galileo reported that the orbital periods of Jupiter's moons permitted accurate determination of longitude on Earth. Newton and Leibniz independently invented calculus, used extensively in mathematics, science, engineering and economics. WHO THE HELL ARE WE? is a series of short books and videos describing the evolution of civilization. Almost everyone on the planet is five times wealthier than their ancestors only 50 years ago. This astonishing phenomenon has also improved health, education, and longevity. The cause; an explosive growth in ideas and productivity. It began when we learned to control fire, evolved articulate speech and stumbled onto the way to create infinite wealth; free trade. The discovery of agriculture made us richer but we also learned how to destroy wealth. Great civilization grew up but then disappeared leaving only incredible ruins and ideas. Later books detail some of the ideas and developments that increased the average life span from about 40 years to more than 80 and the average world income from less than $3 to more than $33 per person per day (and to $140 per day in some countries).