With countries such as China and India now
reducing pollutants containing sulfur dioxide, Dr. Frank Raes, head of
the Climate Change Unit of the European Commission Joint Research Center
in Italy reports that the planet is likely to heat more quickly in
response.
Sulfur dioxide, which is emitted in the processing of
coal, oil and other industrial processes, has already been significantly
reduced in many developed nations.
Although it is harmful to
health, sulfur aerosols create an atmospheric cooling effect that
offsets the heat emitted by the CO2 released in these same processes.
This
suggests that the heat from coal, oil and industry in developing
nations has played a smaller role in global warming than previously
thought. Such a finding corresponds with the conclusions of Dr. Drew
Shindell from the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration, who
estimated that because of sulfur dioxide’s cooling effect, methane,
which is generated primarily by activities related to meat production,
is heating the atmosphere much more than previously thought.
Our
appreciation Dr. Raes and European Commission Joint Research Center
fellow scientists, for this insightful finding. Let us choose the
fastest way to return to health and cool the planet, namely, through the
safe and Earth-friendly vegan diet.
As mentioned on previous
occasions, Supreme Master Ching Hai reminded once again during a
September 2009 videoconference in South Korea that the most urgent
global warming threat lies in sources other than carbon dioxide.
Supreme
Master Ching Hai: If the goal is to be a truly carbon-free
society, we should consider all the major sources of greenhouse gases
emissions. You see, we are emitting greenhouse gases not just through
the fumes from factories, houses, and cars, but also through the
products that we choose to consume. Besides, CO2 is cancelled out by
aerosols, which are released at the same time from burning fossil fuels.
Even though aerosols are very detrimental to our health, they
actually have a cooling effect that cancels out the CO2 heat in the
atmosphere.
So the warming climate problem is not from CO2 I
repeat, it’s not from carbon dioxide. It is from other sources, mainly
methane.
Supreme Master Ching
Hai: First and foremost, eliminate the single largest source of
human-caused methane, namely, livestock. Stop animal products, then we
stop global warming.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527481.400-smoke-bomb-the-other-climate-culprits.html
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/earth-environment/article6895907.ece