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Global warming rate could be halved by controlling 2 pollutants, U.N. study says
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| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Feb 25, 2011 02:53am |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Newspaper - Washington Post |
| News Date | Wednesday, February 23, 2011 08:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | By Darryl Fears
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 23, 2011; 9:12 PM
The projected rise in global temperatures could be cut in half in coming years if world governments focused on reducing emissions of two harmful pollutants - black carbon and ground-level ozone, including methane - rather than carbon dioxide alone, according to a U.N. study released Wednesday.
The study, "Integrated Assessment of Black Carbon and Tropospheric Ozone," by the U.N. Environment Programme, shows the impact that the two short-lived pollutants have on the environment, compared with carbon dioxide, which can stay in the atmosphere for decades.
"I think what this study does that hasn't been done in the past is look at the contributions to global warming by gases with short lifetimes," said Steve Seidel, vice president of policy analysis for the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.
Black carbon, a component of soot, is a threat to human health and is known to hasten the melting of snow. Ground-level ozone kills farm crops and also adversely affects health. Reducing the two, the study said, would improve health outcomes in the regions where they are implemented and "slow the rate of climate change within the first half of this century." |
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