I know, its from the rocket blast getting man on the moon, but hey to some that's just a made up Hollywood thing.
“Science is the belief in the ignorance of experts.” ~ Richard Feynman Richard Phillips Feynman, was an American theoretical physicist A physicist is a scientist. Concerned with or involving the theory of a subject or area of study rather than its practical application: Ridley (a writer not scientist) is best known for his writings on science, the environment, and economics. . Ridley also gave the Angus Millar Lecture on "scientific heresy" at the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) in 2011
Self identification is a good thing. You are on the right path. Sorry you don't think the atom bomb is a practical application. Whodathunk?
http://dailycaller.com/2015/05/28/study-predicts-decades-of-global-cooling-ahead/ http://joannenova.com.au/2014/06/big-news-viii-new-solar-model-predicts-imminent-global-cooling/ http://www.c3headlines.com/global-cooling-dataevidencetrends/
Most sunlight passes through our atmosphere, most of that light being visible light. It then gets absorbed by the earth and radiated back as infrared light into space. Greenhouse gases sometimes get in the way and absorb that infrared light to then release it in every direction. Some of it makes it back to the earth and keeps heat in while some goes into space. So greenhouse gases both keep heat in and release heat outward, although the heat that it releases outward would otherwise still be going outward.
Yet there are natural feedbacks that modulate the earth, one is clouds that reflect it back to space before it hits the earth and warms it. Also, the sun is a vary variable star in many ways that also affect what happens on earth, the magnetic field, the solar wind, etc. None of this is modeled and the alarmism is based on models. The thing that keeps the earth warm is gravity and greenhouse gasses. That is not in dispute but the sun is the only major factor in warming the earth, CO2 doesn't warm the earth but it may change boundaries slightly. It can't do all of the warming as a water vapor feedback is relied on by the models to do the warming. Problem with the models is that they do not model clouds but only use parameters even though there is still much unknown about how clouds actually change and modulate the atmosphere.
I don't know why you refer to wanting to do something about climate change as alarmism, but anyway climate models do work. They have successfully predicted things that have been verified by observation. They are very complex and account for most things that can have any measurable effect on our climate. http://www.ted.com/talks/gavin_schmidt_the_emergent_patterns_of_climate_change?language=en
Precedes the Carbon blanket thickening, it as said is the blanket why which this heat of solar inward and earthly heat generated core outward, due to compression shrinkage as we be drawn into the awaiting Black Hole.