Though this might be of interest...
I watched a Nova broadcast a while back about "global dimming." Apparently, it's been suspected since the late '90s, but the corroborating data and a full picture of it are just coming in now.
Global dimming is the idea that, as a result of pollutants in the atmosphere, the Earth has been getting less sunlight lately than it used to (~10% less). Not only do pollutants block some sunlight, but they also produce clouds that, unlike natural ones, keep more moisture within. This apparently creates a mirror effect, reflecting much of the sunlight back into space.
Here's the kicker... the global warming effect caused by CO2 is now thought to have been Kept In Check all these years by global dimming. IOW, if we didn't have all those pollutants in our atmosphere, our temperatures would probably be yet another Celsius degree higher (approx 2 Fahrenheit degrees higher)... maybe more.
And now that the U.S. and other Western nations are cleaning up their emissions, there Are fewer pollutants in the atmosphere. As the Indians and Chinese do the same, it's feared that current global warming models will have to be rethought. The conclusion was that Earth's temperatures in 2100 will likely be not 5 Celsius degrees higher (as is currently predicted), but 10 (approx 18 Fahrenheit degrees). Their predictions for ~2050 weren't too uplifting either: mass drought and famine -- the kind seen in Ethiopia in the '80s.
"NOVA - Dimming the Sun"
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sun/>
rAS
Welcome, rasquire.
Just so you don't think we're being rude by not responding to your post, I just thought I'd let you know that there was another thread on this topic a while back when that show aired, so we've discussed it already.
I hope you'll stick around and join in our other discussions. :good:
I looked but couldn't find the previous thread on global dimming so I am posting here.
I have seen An Inconvient Truth and thought it an excellent and well thought out presentation EXCEPT for the failure to mention global dimming.
If anything global dimming makes the case that global warming is an even worse situation then the movie indicates.
The dimming omission aside, kudos to President Gore on the movie.
PS. James Burke made a very good in the late 80's exploring global warming and the effects of the deep ocean currants.