"Does water vapor affect climate?"
"Does water vapor (or any other part of the science) affect discussions of climate science /change?"
Clearly water vapor affects climate. Even AGW deniers admit that.
Discussions, on the other hand, are more about politics than about climate, and water vapor, other than in what gets exhaled, isn't germane to the discussion.
Water vapor feedback can also amplify the warming effect of other greenhouse gases, such that the warming brought about by increased carbon dioxide allows more water vapor to enter the atmosphere.
I recall there were numerous posts in here about how water vapour overides the effect of CO2 because all of the frequencies CO2 absorbs at are already covered. This is completely false. I also hear people stating that water vapour is the main greenhouse gas therefor CO2 is nothing to worry about. Another falsehood. I hear people stating that if the planet warmed increased cloud formation would offset the warming. If that were the case why are we not in a constant state of equilibrium? I don't understand quite a few of these arguments or where they get them from given that, if we look at reality and observation, they says otherwise.
People need to learn the differences between what is called a feedback and what is called a forcing.
Like any technical issue, it promptly bogs down in Yes-it-does,No-it-doesn't Land and so has zero effect on discussions. The effect of steam pouring out of ears when someone sees a different opinion has a far larger effect on discussions. Name-calling usually ensues, which makes the whole effort even more pointless than it was before.
