[kanaloa]

Now that Global Warming has been confirmed... more studies reveal additional facts and problems forthcoming.


Even though it is a known fact that pollution causes global warming, a new research suggests that the reverse is also possible. According to this research, global warming may hinder summer's cleansing winds over the Northeast and Midwest US over the next 50 years, significantly elevating the levels of air pollution in these areas.

Increased warming of the atmosphere, as is taking place now, will block cold fronts bringing clean and cool air from Canada and precipitate stagnant air and ozone allowing pollution to build up in the areas mentioned above, researchers said at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Loretta Mickley of Harvard University's Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences said that pollution accumulates until a cold front blows in and the winds sweep the polluted air away. A computer model Mickley and her colleagues created have predicted a 20 per cent reduction in summer cold fronts out of Canada.

If the model holds true, global warming may bring difficult days for those affected by ozone pollution, especially people afflicted with respiratory illnesses like asthma and bronchitis.

Interestingly, earlier this week, 141 nations signed the United Nations Kyoto Protocol that aims at decreasing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute towards global warming.

The United States, which is one of the most polluted countries in the world, refused to sign this protocol, under which there are caps on carbon dioxide emissions, especially from burning fossil fuels in factories, power plants, and vehicles.

Over the past century, world temperatures have increased by an average of 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.6 degree Celsius).

EarthTimes

[kanaloa]

I think a lot of people make the mistake of thinking that global warming just means the earth gets warmer and warmer.

While that's true, that's not the real problem. Yes warmer temps will melt ice, cause sea levels to rise, and crop yields to decrease by 10% for each degree F we increase. Homes and roads will crack as permafrost melts. Weather may go a bit nuts.

You're probably like... "How's that NOT a problem?"

Simple...

Because the real danger is the shut down of the NADW (North Atlantic Deep Water). If the worlds glaciers spill to much fresh water into the salty ocean, the dense sinking water will cease to sink... it will become to diluted with fresh water. That means the entire climate belt of the world will cease to function... and places like Europe, who stay warm mostly bc of the Gulf Air carried their way by the NADW northward, will freeze. North America, Africa, Siberia, South America and nearly every other major landform region will be effected by this if and when it occurs again. Imagine if the main belt in your car shut off... think about what would happen.

It is very true that ALL of this happens on a cycle... it has for millions of years. But it is also true that humans are speeding up the process. We keep cutting the inevitable in half... we could already have only half as much time as we once did. CO2 emissions emitted TODAY will last until 2250.

[Mac33]

This is definately a serious crisis we are heading for. If this continues, then the Gulf stream we get from the South Americas to the UK would cease, and the UK would end up in Arctic conditions. I feel that the US president cannot find a way to sign the Kyoto agreement simply because he would loose his political backers. Commerce in the US are frightened of the implications of this agreement, and particularly the car and gas industries, as the US would have to come into line with most European countries with higher gas taxes which would in effect quadruple the price you are paying now.

[phileysmiley]

Thanks for the update, John. I had seen a few pieces on that too. Kind of ironic, eh? Can you say VICIOUS CYCLE? And your observations are spot on. Most people who haven't followed this or studied it do not understand what the term "Global Warming" really means. They don't get how it can also mean colder winters. It seems counterintuitive. Folks really need to read up on this.

And Mac, you are absolutely correct about why the US Gov't will not sign on. But I won't get into a political diatribe here. Needless to say, many industries are dependent on our continued love affair with the automobile, and that alone has contributed a huge percentage to the world's greenhouse gases.