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Refrigerator as Model of How Earth's Water Manages Solar and Anthropogenic Heats and Controls Global Warming
  • Michel Vert
Michel Vert
University of Montpellier, University of Montpellier, University of Montpellier

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Abstract

The role of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) in global warming is confusing. Experts predict that changes in ocean level and atmospheric temperature will increase considerably in distant future. On the other hand, loss of ices in the World is already dramatic and has increased over the recent years. Anthropogenic CO2-related greenhouse effects may be responsible for the global warming; however ice imbalance remains to be explained in more details. We previously showed that estimated anthropogenic heat released between 1994 and 2017 was energetic enough to have caused the melting of a large part of the global ice lost during the same period. To complement this finding, the present work suggests that water on Earth behaves as a refrigerant and manages solar heat and anthropogenic heat similarly. It is also shown that the combustion of fossil hydrocarbons is releasing a huge amount of water stored for millions years in fossil hydrocarbon sources of energy. As anthropogenic heat is no longer negligible, minimizing CO2 production may not be enough to control climate perturbations. Hydrogen is regarded as a climate-friendly alternative source of energy. The last part suggests that heat-cycle assessment from cradle to grave should be used in addition to life cycle assessment to compare hydrogen with other sources of energy in the search for ways to minimize anthropogenic heat release and its impact on climate changes.