This is a re-post from June’11. A landmark study released Jan 15 2013 finds the direct influence of black carbon, or soot, on warming the climate could be about twice previous estimates. More information here — Stephen
There is a quick way to buy more time to make the switch from fossil fuels to alternatives. Serious reductions in air pollutants like soot and smog bring cleaner air, less asthma/lung disease/heart attacks and could cut warming by 30 per cent. No new technology needed as my article shows, just something like a Green Marshall Plan to bring simple things like $20 clean-burning cooking stove to hundreds of millions of people. (more at Global Alliance for Cookstoves) — Stephen
By Stephen Leahy
BONN, Jun 14, 2011 (IPS) – Clean the air, cool the planet and prevent millions of deaths with fast action on soot and smog, a new report urges.
Air pollutants like black carbon (soot) and ground-level ozone (smog) arise from incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and biomass like wood and charcoal.
Nations or regional blocks of nations could decide to put measures into place that…
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I must admit I was very surprised by the headline to this article because I thought the concept of “global dimming” – i.e. the net cooling effect of industrial aerosols and particulates – was already an uncontested reality. However, having read the original blog post this seems to have been far from being the case; even as recently as two years ago. Therefore, I would like to say that I am very relieved to see that this most recent study brings the matter into line with what I thought it was anyway…
However, in reality, this is clearly not good news because – just as the anthropogenic hole in the ozone layer (now repairing itself) has kept the Antarctic cooler than it would otherwise be – any advances we make in reducing industrial pollution in developing countries will simply add to all the positive feedback mechanisms already driving the acceleration of sea level rise (etc.).
How any so-called “sceptics” can continue to insist that the Earth is now entering a cooling phase is quite incredible.