The Post & Email by Tom Harris 3/12/2026
The habitual suspect in the three-decade-old trillion-dollar climate heist is, of course, human caused carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. But whether or not the temperature rise we’ve experienced is human caused, it could be that the self-proclaimed detectives in the media and public are being misled. CO2, while having some impact on temperatures as all greenhouse gases do, is apparently like a petty thief stealing from a convenience store while a master thief makes away with millions from the bank. So, the question is: who is the real culprit?
A recent paper, published on July 5, 2025 in the journal Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, “Development and comparison of empirical models for all-sky downward longwave radiation estimation at the ocean surface using long-term observations,” was written mostly by Chinese researchers Peng, J. Jiang, B., et al. The researchers analysed over 30 years’ worth of radiation data (1998 – 2019) from 65 buoys on the ocean surface. Figure 1 shows the distribution of buoys from which measurements were taken. They discovered that cloud properties rather than CO2 turn out to be the dominant factor in controlling surface longwave radiation, which is the energy that warms the ocean’s surface.
The ocean surface is a key feature to study to understand the air-sea interactions. These interactions, in turn, are crucial in understanding the Earth’s climate. On his post on X.com, Earth scientist Dr. Matthew Wielicki explains: “Downward longwave radiation is the key mechanism by which the atmosphere transfers heat to the surface. If CO₂ were truly the primary driver of surface warming, you would expect changes in CO₂ to show up clearly.” However, that wasn’t found in the Chinese study.
More:
https://www.thepostemail.com/2026/03/12/detective-work-on-the-real-causes-of-earths-temperature-changes-beginning-to-bear-fruit/
