Where is atmospheric carbon dioxide (and other greenhouse gasses), B is the total atmosphere, and C is the average global temperature, there is some question as to how much effect B has on C, as opposed to D, solar activity and E, the Asian Brown Cloud have on temperature. But we know that since D has been going down while C has been going up, it is not D which is causing the increase in C.
You are talking in a dumb way about the relationship of CO2 in our atmosphere, and the very small percentage of CO2 does have a big effect, but because it affects radiation over a small band width, it soon gets saturated, and most of it's warming effect takes place with the first 100ppm a doubling from 280ppm would hardly have any effect at all, that's why methane is considered a dangerous greenhouse gas, because even though it affects an even smaller band-with ( frequency) it's concentration is so low that it is not yet saturated, therefore an increase in concentration would cause an increase in warming.
"Early indications are that mortgage rates dropped sharply in response, with the average on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages down by a full one-tenth of a percent Wednesday afternoon, according to the latest figures from the Zillow Mortgage Marketplace. "
Quote from about one month ago. Oh, sorry 9% of one year ago, from today to then.
So if someone fails at correcting a Flunky, what grade should they be given?
Your example is misleading (perhaps unintentionally). Normally the phrase "has increased as a percentage of" is used with percentages greater than 1% and both the before and after percentage are mentioned.
A typical press statement might be: "The teen pregnancy rate among low income Americans has declined. Ten years ago it was 2%, in 2012 it had dropped to 1.7%.
Or "Mortgage rates have been gradually increasing. From a low of 5% for 30 year fixed mortgages, two years ago, the rates now average 6.5%"
One would not normally read, "mortgage rates have increased by 1.5% since two years ago."
(The actual numbers mentioned above are guesses, I did not look them up. The point is not the exact numbers, the point is the clarity with which they are presented).
This is why you almost always (except from denier tricksters barely able to understand high school math) hear CO2 concentrations expressed as parts per million or increases, over time, in parts per million.
A, a component of B, has increased .01% as a percentage of B. What other information do you need, in most cases, to determine what effect this will have on C?
And where A is atmospheric carbon dioxide (and other greenhouse gasses), B is the total atmosphere, and C is the average global temperature, what of those questions do we have actual, reliable answers, or at the very least strongly supported estimates, for?
