Carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels remains in the atmosphere and is not absorbed by vegetation and the oceans. While transparent to visible light, carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, absorbing and emitting infrared radiation at its two infrared-active vibrational frequencies (see the section "Structure and bonding" above). Light emission from the earth's surface is most intense in the infrared region between 200 and 2500 cm, as opposed to light emission from the much hotter sun which is most intense in the visible region. Absorption of infrared light at the vibrational frequencies of atmospheric carbon dioxide traps energy near the
Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change The Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Tempe, Arizona. The Center produces a weekly online science newsletter called "COScience". The Center was founded and is run by Craig D. Idso, along with Sherwood B. Idso, his father, and Keith E. Idso, his brother. They came from backgrounds in agriculture and climate. According to the Idsos, they became involved in the global warming controversy through their study of earth's temperature sensitivity to radiative perturbations and plant responses to elevated CO