"Cleaner air adds to global warming"...

[MazeRat7]

Air trends 'amplifying' warming

<snip>
Reduced air pollution and increased water evaporation appear to be adding to man-made global warming.

Research presented at a major European science meeting adds to other evidence that cleaner air is letting more solar energy through to the Earth's surface.

Other studies show that increased water vapour in the atmosphere is reinforcing the impact of man-made greenhouse gas emissions.

Scientists suggest both trends may push temperatures higher than believed.



The decline in Soviet industry and clean air laws in western countries apparently reduced concentrations of aerosols, tiny particles, in the atmosphere.

These aerosols may block solar radiation directly, or help clouds to form which in turn constitute a barrier; or both effects may occur.

....

His analysis suggests that "global dimming" and the man-made greenhouse effect may have canceled each other out until the early 1980s, but now "global brightening" is adding to the impact of human greenhouse emissions.

"There is always this argument that maybe the whole temperature rise wasn't due to greenhouse warming but due to solar variations," he told the BBC News website.

</snip>


As with most complex models, there is never a simple singular cause and effect. While I am not all that surprised that cleaner air combined with green house gasses are pushing up temperatures, its certainly not the answer I would have given over dinner about what is causing "global warming". Until today I would have spouted off that global warning is caused exclusively by green house gasses. Had someone told me cleaner air factored into that equation, I would have wanted proof. Like this.

MZr7


BTW:Not sure what this has to do with much of anything in the news today other than it is an additional bit of information for the already over informed :)

[skids]

1. One big volcano...

...and problem solved. (EDIT: for a few years, and we still have the ocean acidity problem regardless.)

[BlueEyedSon]

2. Or a few nukes

[Lisa]

3. bizarre, isn't it!

A pollutant we've been trying to get rid of since at least the 1960s (acid rain) turns out to be screening us from global warming ...

Some of the SDI-type technophiles have suggested that we spray SO2 (a major component of aerosols) into the upper atmosphere as a way to reflect some incoming sunlight (and reduce warming), but given how much we've managed to mess things up already, we'd probably make it worse!

[MazeRat7]

4. Yeah...If we introduce change into the system the best we can hope for is:

Things will remain the same. In all probability, they will degrade. Funny thing about complex systems, they don't respond well to intervention. :)

MZr7

[hopeisaplace]

5. The future could be "Domed Cities"...

really strong domes.

[MazeRat7]

6. That sounds a lot like closing the barn door after the animals are out...

I get your point, but that sounds a lot like the myth of health care. We don't "prevent" illness...we treat "sickness". A dome being a big-pharma like solution to the root case: Human Consumption.

Until we (and yes the US is the worst), learn to consume less of everything per-capita, this problem will only get worse. When is enough, enough ? When does low cost, convenience, and greed take a back seat to survival with some measure of life quality ?

The really sad thing is we have managed to clean up our air, but the other crap in the air is going to interact to spike temps and ultimately cause climatic change on a level we really should avoid.

Oh well.... just ramblings on my part really. However, a "dome" over my personal property looks do-able. ;)

MZr7

[hopeisaplace]

7. lol, ..was just joking of course..I hope ????

*crosses fingers*
Lets hope its just "science fiction material"...and would
Halliburton get the contracts to build the Domes? *slaps own face
for the thought* :)

[MazeRat7]

8. I do too. But it would not surprise me to read that in the morning rag.