[by Dean Smith] My wife, daughter and I were recently watching a favorite program on Netflix, when I hit the pause button.

“I have a simple question for both of you,” I said.

It was part of my less than scientific survey on perceptions surrounding global warming.

“If we cut out a swath of the earth’s atmosphere made up of 10,000 atoms and molecules, how many of them would be CO2.”

What would be your answer to this question?

Environmentalists have created the powerful perception that CO2 is the primary driving force of global warming and man is the sole cause of rising CO2 emissions. They say that unless we cut the amount of CO2 in the earth’s atmosphere, we are headed for catastrophe.

You are left with the idea that the air around us is rapidly filling with CO2.

“About 5,000,” was my daughter’s immediate answer.

My wife was slower to respond but agreed saying she was thinking about half the air we breathe is made up of CO2.

But the truth is far different than the perception. In 10,000 atoms/molecules of air, only four are CO2 — four as in 4.

Only .038% of the earth’s atmosphere — not 3.8% — but .038% is made up of CO2 or 3.8 molecules in 10,000.

But I was in a generous mood and rounded it up to four.

I then asked my wife and daughter a second question. Of those 4 molecules of CO2, how many are created by humans.

“4” my wife responded, first this time.

My daughter took a slightly lower number and went with “3.”

Between the two of them, they believed 75% to 100% of the CO2 in the earth’s atmosphere is caused by humans.

Again, these views are a by-product of the man-made global warming agenda. Intentional or not, they have created the perception that humans are the sole cause of CO2. As a result, we must make dramatic changes to slow the release of this vital gas critical to life on earth.

However, over 97% of the CO2 in our atmosphere is created naturally and it estimated that only between 1% to 3% has a human source.

Going back to our analogy (using the higher 3%), of those 4 molecules of CO2 just over a tenth of one of them is caused by humans.

When it comes to the uproar surrounding CO2 emissions and man-made global warming, facts are stranger than perception.