Climate News: Geo-engineering, Soot and Deforestation
Posted: in Arctic & Antarctic, Geoengineering
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Guest blogger Lisa Moore, Ph.D., is a scientist in the Climate and Air Program.
There’s always something new in climate change research. This week, scientists described the risks of geo-engineering, proposed an efficient way to reduce Arctic climate change, and discussed options for decreasing deforestation in developing countries.
Matthews, HD & K Caldeira (2007) Transient climate-carbon simulations of planetary geoengineering. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 10.1073/pnas.0700419104
Using geo-engineering to reduce the amount of sunlight reaching the Earth’s surface is extremely dangerous. A large, rapid "warming rebound" could result if the technology fails or is stopped, especially if there are no parallel efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (For more on geo-engineering, see this earlier post.)
Reddy, MS & O Boucher (2007) Climate impact of black carbon emitted from energy consumption in the world’s regions. Geophysical Research Letters 34: L11802.
Most of the black carbon (soot) that is causing rapid warming in the Arctic comes from Europe, so reducing black carbon emissions in Europe would be a fast and efficient way to slow Arctic climate change.
B Schlamadinger & DN Bird, editors (June 2004) Special Issue: Options for including agriculture and forestry activities in a post-2012 international climate agreement. Environmental Science and Policy 10 (4): 269-394. (Paid subscription required)
This special issue reports the results of a workshop in which participants discussed policy options for decreasing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation in developing countries. More information is available on this website.
One Comment
We can keep trying to runaway from the global warming. That is our job now. But I do think is too late. We are 6.3 billion people sharing the world, but do we know how many of us care or how many of us know where are we right now?
We may say there is many many people concered. Yes, there is. But is it enough? Tell to the American or European people to change their lifestyles or to China slowdown the development “just” because the earth is warming up is quite hard. Tibet, North Pole, Andes are melting fastly. Can we make some snow, ice or water to put up those pleaces?
We have to try the impossible.
Because the impossible is allready happening.