Tom Nelson Podcast #389: Andy May: “The Sun vs CO2” is now published. @Andy_May_Writer Andy May discusses how Earth’s energy imbalance and ocean heat content relate to solar radiation versus greenhouse-gas downwelling IR. He argues IR photons are lower energy and absorbed in the ocean’s top micrometers–millimeter (thermal/electromagnetic skin), so it cannot directly heat the mixed layer; instead it may reduce upward heat loss by altering the skin-layer temperature gradient, while sunlight penetrates meters to >100 m and warms the bulk ocean. He critiques NASA-style energy-flow diagrams for confusing one-way radiative fluxes (e.g., 340 W/m²) with net heat (e.g., 58 W/m²). He highlights large uncertainties in EEI and OHC due to sparse, inconsistent datasets, cool-skin effects, short Argo-era records, and oscillations like AMO/ENSO, making partitioning of causes uncertain. 00:00 Sun vs CO2 Setup 00:35 Why IR Differs 02:52 Ocean Skin Layers 05:48 Photon Energy Debate 07:55 Cool Skin Impacts 10:01 Energy Diagram Myths 13:33 EEI and OHC Limits 18:17 Ocean Data Disagreements 23:55 Surface EEI Variability 26:38 IR Cannot Heat Deep 29:51 Bottom Line Uncertainty 31:18 Q&A and Critiques 34:52 Modeling and Coverage 36:41 Regional Trend Map 41:21 Closing Takeaways