Soot Is Warming the World — a Lot 251
sciencehabit writes "Soot is bad stuff all around, whether you're breathing it into your lungs or it's heating the atmosphere by absorbing more of the sun's energy. But a new 4-year, 232-page assessment (PDF) of soot's role in climate finds that the combustion product could be warming the world twice as much as previously thought. The study points policymakers toward the best targets for reducing climate-warming soot emissions while at the same time improving the health of billions of people."
Re:And here I thought it was the cars (Score:5, Informative)
The article just says that the contribution of soot to global warming is higher than previously thought. It doesn't say that soot is now the sole or even the main cause of global warming (the linked article ranks it #2, behind CO2).
Comment removed (Score:2, Informative)
Re:17 years of no warming (Score:2, Informative)
Here is what the Dr. Hansen did: http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2012/12/03/climate_change_deniers_write_another_fact_free_op_ed.html [slate.com]
Yea, no cherry picking there..
Re:Global Dimming (Score:3, Informative)
Yes, look at Beijing these days. Not much sun rays coming down. No blue sky either.
Re:Reminds me of a cartoon (Score:5, Informative)
If they support that notion they weaken the argument against their prime target, CO2, since it has no ill health effects until you have enough of it around you to displace the oxygen you need.
Actually, CO2 is toxic at concentrations above 1%, and can cause suffocation and blood poisoning when concentrations are around 10%, and not just because it displaces oxygen. That's exactly what happened on Apollo 13: Carbon dioxide concentrations were too high, despite Oxygen levels remaining normal.
Re:That's it!! I've had it!! (Score:4, Informative)
There is a German wikipedia article about flue gas cleaning (Translation [google.co.uk]). I wonder why this is only in German and Swedish. These aren't the only countries doing this, are they?