the 2008 15TW figure is average power consumption _rate_; energy consumption was 474 exajoules (474×1018 J=132,000 TWh)…sorry for spreading my confusion…

and didn’t finish one sentence; meant to say ‘…all heat can escape the earth eventually, if it gets the chance…’

hopefully the only feet I put in my mouth…???

disclaimer: I’m not a scientist…but I’m an architect, and know something about home heating systems (heat sources) and insulation (thermal envelopes)…;)

Singmaster’s issue of the warming effect of using energy (entropy) is interesting and worth pursuing, as I’m sure many are already doing; but his characterization is way off – I will assume due to hastyness: energy is not just particles moving; there’s also radiant energy; and anyway gravity won’t stop faster-moving particles from being slowed down by slower ones when they contact…etc., etc…all heat escapes from the earth

Shouldn’t be too hard to figure out…(jk)… Just compare ‘Annual Solar Energy Input’ and ‘earth core heat contribution’ to ‘Net Annual Human Energy Consumption Thermal Contribution’…I think…subtracting for the thermal contribution of warm-blooded animals, and deducting any energy ‘used’ that’s actually embodied/embedded in the work product / material…and a few more factors…

@TrueSceptic’s second comment, 15TW/_yr_ (wiki 2008 value if you trust it) is energy consumption (if just TW it’s power, not energy, I think?), which must include ‘waste heat’. If I put 100W into an incandescent light bulb, 90 watts of (wasted) heat(energy) comes out; plus 10 watts of light(energy). The 10 ‘useful’ watts then degrade to heat as well, eventually…faster if they hit sooty walls than freshly white-washed ones…

Point is, we’re certainly creating lots of entropy, from AC’s that warm the city to nuclear power plants. But those energy inputs are one-time, whereas the insulation of CO2 (And methane, and fluorinated gases, etc) can be very long-lasting…and acts on both the anthropogenic heat sources, and the much bigger one (10^17W) of the sun…

I’ve seen threads elsewhere get revived after a year or so.

But I’m sure DC doesn’t want us to derail this thread.

[DC: I'll try to get it back on track asking an obvious question: Why are people reading this thread on Smil now after months of dormancy? It was even the most read post a couple of days ago.

I'll give the probable answer later today, if no one else does. ]

It also makes me wonder whether they are a Dr at all.

After 4.5Bn years of 250W/m^2 from the sun, the earth should have passed the fusion temperature of all the elements on the earth by now…

The CO2 GH forcing is calculated at 1.6 W/m^2. The earth’s surface area is 510,072,000 km^2. This gives us about 800 TW over the whole earth, or about 50 x what we consume.

Can someone check? It’s so easy to get these things wrong by huge factors!

Doesn’t the Law of Conservation of Energy say that that released heat energy has to stay trapped in the enclosed biosphere?

What a strange concept. You appear to be suggesting that all the energy ever produced must be retained in the biosphere. Have you made any estimates of that total energy and the resulting temperatures?

How is this energy different to solar energy reaching the earth’s surface and being converted into heat? Does that get retained, and if not, why not?

You are aware that energy leaves the earth via radiation (the only way it can)?

Or do you mean “soot”, the well known fine black particles produced by incomplete combustion?

Except it

a) isn’t a trend (too many ups and downs)
b) isn’t flat or down (goes up and down)