How to explain to a layman the earth's energy balance and greenhouse gases?

[repoman]

For this topic there those who are emotionally driven to think that AGW is garbage and those who "trust" the scientists but don't know the details and reasons. Also there are plenty of people who understand the rough mechanics and agree with the massive preponderance of theory and data.

This video is a bit rambling, but I like following his process:

 

[Underseer]

I love Sixty Symbols, especially for math stuffs, but for explaining climate change issues to non-experts, I think it's hard to top Potholer54's video series:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL82yk73N8eoX-Xobr_TfHsWPfAIyI7VAP

Although watching all of those videos may be daunting, especially for people who want to reject certain conclusions for ideological reasons. Not only does he carefully pick apart a large number of claims and explain in great detail why this or that claim is wrong, he walks the audience step-by-step through the process of evaluating a scientific claim, which is perhaps the most informative thing about this video series.

Potholer is a science journalist (a real one, not one of those idiot regular reporters that occasionally tries to write stories about science [he has some choice things to say about them]) and as such is very good at explaining complex science issues to average Joe Idroolmyself types.

 

[steve_bank]

I just listened to an MSNBC segment on climate. They showed clips of a number of conservatives, young and old, male and female.

Educated people. Yet none had a clue of the science at any level.

Explaining is an impossible task.

 

[Underseer]

I just listened to an MSNBC segment on climate. They showed clips of a number of conservatives, young and old, male and female.

Educated people. Yet none had a clue of the science at any level.

Explaining is an impossible task.

It's a religion. No amount of facts can penetrate when someone is ideologically bound to certain conclusions.

 

[Koyaanisqatsi]

I just listened to an MSNBC segment on climate. They showed clips of a number of conservatives, young and old, male and female.

Educated people. Yet none had a clue of the science at any level.

Explaining is an impossible task.

We need to stop explaining and instead just do it without them.

 

[steve_bank]

There was a film clip of a senator in a session holding a snowball. He said how can the Earth be warming when I can go outside and make a snowball, its cold outside.

 

[repoman]

I thought of using a fountain pond as an example. A very rough one of course.

The water inflow rate is analogous to sunlight and is basically constant and unchangeable
The outflow rate it equivalent to that at the drain or outlet.
The height of the pond (surface to drain or outlet) is equiv to temperature.

So CO2 and methane are like leaves and muck in the drain or like tightening the drain valve. The water level will rise until outflow equals inflow.

Maybe a conservative plumber could be brought around with this analogy.