Thanks Sunnye, for your excellent overview of the GH effect.
One thing most folks don't realize is that the "heat" lost to space is in the range of below-zero temperatures.
The heat that we experience here at the surface is radiated up and translated through collisions (decaying to lower temperatures) to the upper reaches of the atmosphere (eventually) where it can then be radiated away (if the narrow windows allowing certain wavelengths to escape are still open).
...or words to that effect.
I think this is accurate. Someone let me know if there's a question or correction.
If your interested, you might check out:
"Human Influence on Climate" for a spirited and scientifically detailed discussion of the physical mechanism of IR absorption by CO2 (and other gases) and the "greenhouse effect."
http://www.scienceagogo.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=26091#Post26091Thanks,
~
p.s. Nitrous oxide,
commonly know as "laughing gas", is a chemical compound
with the chemical formula N2O. -wikipedia
NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) is something else... technicalities.
