Roger Revelle's Discovery Before scientists would take greenhouse effect warming seriously, they had to get past a counterargument of long standing. It seemed certain that the immense mass of the oceans would quickly absorb whatever excess carbon dioxide humanity might produce. Roger Revelle discovered that the peculiar chemistry of sea water prevents that from happening. His 1957 paper with Hans Suess is now widely regarded as the opening shot in the global warming debates. This essay describes Revelle's discovery in detail and places it in the context of Cold War and other contemporary concerns which gave him essential material support...