[Originally posted on goofyblog 12.06.06]
Came upon this amazing clip from the BBC today.
My friend from Germany was just visiting here and he told me the past 2 winters in Europe have been unseasonably warm. I already knew that the oceans of the world are in extreme danger from global warming (it’s #3 of the top 25 censored news stories of 2007):
“In 2005, researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory found clear evidence the ocean is quickly warming. They discovered that the top half-mile of the ocean has warmed dramatically in the past forty years as a result of human-induced greenhouse gases.”
But what I had no idea about was the now-established fact of global dimming. Over the past 30 years, pollution particulates floating in the clouds of the earth have created a mirroring effect, which has reduced sunlight striking the earth by as much as 30% in some areas. This phenomenon was responsible for the famines in Africa in the 80s, killing millions (see the vid for exactly why).
Clean-burning autos and power plants stand a chance of reducing the particulates in the air of the world and there has been some small noticeable improvement in Europe so far.
But there’s a very big problem.
During the 3 days after 9/11 when all US aircraft were grounded, a researcher in Madison measured temperature to determine the effect of a lower dimming effect (jet trails are considered a big part of the problem). In just 3 days, temperatures rose 1 degree!
In other words, global dimming has been holding down the full effect of global warming. Scientists now believe if we clean up the particulates, but don’t deal with the burning of fuels into the atmosphere that the earth will warm at an accelerated rate not heretofore thought possible (as much as 5 degrees in less than 40 years).
This would be a catastrophe for the human race. There are over 3 billion people living along the equator depending on the monsoons, way more than were affected in Africa. The water they provide would be severely curtailed under this effect. And greater warming would flood most of the large cities of the world. Oceans, agriculture, rains all would be affected.
While time is wasted on abstinence-only programs and all the other petty bollox, in a few years we will face an irreversible world-wide change in environment.
Came upon this amazing clip from the BBC today.
My friend from Germany was just visiting here and he told me the past 2 winters in Europe have been unseasonably warm. I already knew that the oceans of the world are in extreme danger from global warming (it’s #3 of the top 25 censored news stories of 2007):
“In 2005, researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory found clear evidence the ocean is quickly warming. They discovered that the top half-mile of the ocean has warmed dramatically in the past forty years as a result of human-induced greenhouse gases.”
But what I had no idea about was the now-established fact of global dimming. Over the past 30 years, pollution particulates floating in the clouds of the earth have created a mirroring effect, which has reduced sunlight striking the earth by as much as 30% in some areas. This phenomenon was responsible for the famines in Africa in the 80s, killing millions (see the vid for exactly why).
Clean-burning autos and power plants stand a chance of reducing the particulates in the air of the world and there has been some small noticeable improvement in Europe so far.
But there’s a very big problem.
During the 3 days after 9/11 when all US aircraft were grounded, a researcher in Madison measured temperature to determine the effect of a lower dimming effect (jet trails are considered a big part of the problem). In just 3 days, temperatures rose 1 degree!
In other words, global dimming has been holding down the full effect of global warming. Scientists now believe if we clean up the particulates, but don’t deal with the burning of fuels into the atmosphere that the earth will warm at an accelerated rate not heretofore thought possible (as much as 5 degrees in less than 40 years).
This would be a catastrophe for the human race. There are over 3 billion people living along the equator depending on the monsoons, way more than were affected in Africa. The water they provide would be severely curtailed under this effect. And greater warming would flood most of the large cities of the world. Oceans, agriculture, rains all would be affected.
While time is wasted on abstinence-only programs and all the other petty bollox, in a few years we will face an irreversible world-wide change in environment.
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