• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
  • Podcast
  • Archives
  • Links

Atomic Insights

Atomic energy technology, politics, and perceptions from a nuclear energy insider who served as a US nuclear submarine engineer officer

I need some help – What impact does H2O vapor have on the global climate?

November 13, 2005 By Rod Adams

After listening to some interesting talks yesterday about various methods of producing hydrogen as a means to reduce our dependence on fuels that release CO2 into the atmosphere, I was a bit shaken to come across the following article on BBC news – Water builds the heat in Europe.

I guess I knew that water vapor was considered to be a greenhouse gas – here is a nice summary page from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) about Greenhouse Gases.

Apparently the nature of water vapor as a greenhouse gas in general is well understood, but there is less understanding and modeling about the historical variations of the water cycle that one might think.

Anyway, here is my concern – If water vapor is a greenhouse gas, will reducing carbon emissions have the desired effect if that reduction is accomplished by replacing CO2 emissions with H2O emissions? The reason I am worried is that is exactly what you do when you use hydrogen instead of carbon (coal) or hydrocarbons (petroleum). We have been continually reminded that combustion or electolytic combination of hydrogen with oxygen produces energy and “pure water” as the waste products.

However, most of the processes that are being considered produce that water at temperatures well above the boiling point – in other words, using vast quantities of hydrogen as an energy source will have some kind of impact on the quantity of water vapor in the atmosphere. I have no idea what kinds of feedback mechanisms should be considered, but it sure seems logical that the overall trend would be an increase in water vapor over time as more and more H2O is released in the form of steam.

Any ideas and comments would be most welcome.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

About Rod Adams

Managing member at Nucleation Capital, LP.
Atomic energy expert with small nuclear plant operating and design experience. Financial, strategic, and political analyst. Former submarine Engineer Officer. Founder, Adams Atomic Engines, Inc. Host and producer, The Atomic Show Podcast. Resume available here.

Please subscribe to the Atomic Show RSS feed.

Primary Sidebar

Search Atomic Insights

The Atomic Show

Atomic Insights

Follow Atomic Insights

Recent Posts

Atomic Show #288 – Per Peterson, CNO, Kairos Power

Kenneth Pitzer blamed AEC advisors for slow power reactor development

Why did the US Atomic Energy Commission kill Daniels Pile in 1947?

How did an oil shale investor hamstring his atomic energy competition? (Ancient but impactful smoking gun)

Improved atomic energy offers a pathway that Princeton’s Net Zero America failed to acknowledge

  • Home
  • About Atomic Insights
  • Atomic Show
  • Contact
  • Links

Search Atomic Insights

Archives

Copyright © 2021 · Atomic Insights

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy