OT- Global Dimming

[Eyeofsauron]

Just watched a documentary about this last night. This is a worldwide problem, where the amount of solar energy reaching the ground has dropped significantly to reduce the amount of water that evaporates from lakes and seas to form rainfall. In America, the level of solar energy dropped 10%. In other places it's dropped by as much as 30%. This is a paradox, as you would expect evaporation to speed up due to global warming, not slow down.

It's caused preliminary by visible pollutants in the atmosphere. Natural clouds are formed from natural particles floating about in the air, such as pollen. Water droplets accumulate on them, and eventually they get heavy enough to fall as rain. The same process happens with carbon molecules released from your car exhaust and power stations. The big difference is this particles are smaller and so don't become heavy enough to fall as rain. When sunlight shines on these clouds (on the side you can't see), these tiny water molecules act as huge reflective mirrors, bouncing solar energy back into space.

This has a massive effect on rainfall patterns and is believed to be the cause of millions of deaths due to famine and drought in North Africa during the 70s and 80s.

Fortunately, we've decided to clean up our act. Catalytic converters fitted to cars and scrubbers fitted in power stations have reduced visible air pollution significantly. As a result, famine and drought has been lass severe in countries which have in the past been affected by it.

One other known source of global dimming is from contrails from aircraft. One contrail on it's own isn't going to make a lot of difference. When you take all of them into account though, they can have a drastic effect. After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, all aircraft were grounded for a few days, giving scientists a rare opportunity to study the effect of aircraft contrails. The results were staggering. Rather than simply measure the peak daily temperature, which varies naturally, they decided to look are variance in temperature range, and found that immediately after 9/11 whilst all aircraft were grounded, the temperature shot up by a whole 1 degree. This may not sound like much to the layman, but this figure is huge, and very disturbing. After the aircraft were allowed to fly again, the temperature range fell back to previous levels. Imagine that just one factor can alter temperatures so significantly.

This has got the scientific community very, very worried, because it demonstrates that the climate is far more sensitive than they possibly imagined. It's believed that whilst the world has been warming due to carbon dioxide emissions, global dimming has been having an opposite effect and cooling the globe down. Scientists are worried that their current climate models for global warming are too optimistic. It was predicted that we would expect a maximum global temperature raise of 5 degrees, without taking the reduction of global dimming into account. Now, it's predicted the temperature will rise by 10 degrees by the end of this century, if carbon dioxide emissions remain unchecked.

The worst part is that we're very rapidly running out of time, and little is being done about it. Within 25 years, we will have reached a point of no return, where the temperature will be high enough to cause an unstoppable chain reaction, starting with the melting of Greenland's ice cap, releasing vast quantities of fresh water into the ocean. The destruction of the tropical rain forest will follow, with even more carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere due to forest fires. Equatorial regions will become unable to support any kind of life, whereas locations like the UK will turn into savannah. And then the worst is yet to come. If the world heats up enough, vast quantities of methane, a global warming gas far more potent than carbon dioxide, will be released from the ocean floor, which will make all our efforts to mess up the world since the industrial revolution pale in significance. We will have successfully managed to turn a Garden of Eden into a living hell.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_dimming

[AdamM]

the good news is the planet has recovered from far worse and when where extinct it's sort itself out. we're not very important on the big scale

my glass is always half full 

[byronkincaid]

We will have successfully managed to turn a Garden of Eden into a living hell.

ZOMGWTF LIVING HELL!!!!!

oh maybe not

http://youtube.com/watch?v=P6Wr1hcIp2U

[Royal Flush]

One other known source of global dimming is from contrails from aircraft. One contrail on it's own isn't going to make a lot of difference. When you take all of them into account though, they can have a drastic effect. After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, all aircraft were grounded for a few days, giving scientists a rare opportunity to study the effect of aircraft contrails. The results were staggering. Rather than simply measure the peak daily temperature, which varies naturally, they decided to look are variance in temperature range, and found that immediately after 9/11 whilst all aircraft were grounded, the temperature shot up by a whole 1 degree. This may not sound like much to the layman, but this figure is huge, and very disturbing. After the aircraft were allowed to fly again, the temperature range fell back to previous levels. Imagine that just one factor can alter temperatures so significantly.

Do people actually believe this tosh or is it an early April Fools?

[Woodsey]

Yes its all down to those damn selfish pilots

[byronkincaid]

We need more taxes. That'll solve it.

[boldie]

We need more taxes. That'll solve it.

just prevent the poor from flying..that'll do it.

[bolt pp]

It's all made up, like bigfoot, ufo's, ghosts and germs.

[madasahatstand]

It's all made up, like bigfoot, ufo's, ghosts and germs.

i think you'll find that there is plenty of evidence for ufos 

[bolt pp]

It's all made up, like bigfoot, ufo's, ghosts and germs.

i think you'll find that there is plenty of evidence for ufos 

O.k, maybe i was a bit hasty listing u.f.o's,  I could have gone with.............

Dinosaurs
Gremlins
Australians
Electricity
Dragons
Merlin
The easter bunny
Kieth chegwin
Comminism
a burger that looks like the picture in McDonald's, they dont come like that, it's a f**kin lie!!!
the moon landing
elf's
hippo
god
o zone layer
alaska
Dracula
microwaves

[madasahatstand]

It's all made up, like bigfoot, ufo's, ghosts and germs.

i think you'll find that there is plenty of evidence for ufos 

O.k, maybe i was a bit hasty listing u.f.o's,  I could have gone with.............

Dinosaurs
Gremlins
Australians
Electricity
Dragons
Merlin
The easter bunny
Kieth chegwin
Comminism
a burger that looks like the picture in McDonald's, they dont come like that, it's a f**kin lie!!!
the moon landing
elf's
hippo
god
o zone layer
alaska
Dracula
microwaves

 

[bolt pp]

It's all made up, like bigfoot, ufo's, ghosts and germs.

i think you'll find that there is plenty of evidence for ufos 

O.k, maybe i was a bit hasty listing u.f.o's,  I could have gone with.............

Dinosaurs
Gremlins
Australians
Electricity
Dragons
Merlin
The easter bunny
Kieth chegwin
Comminism
a burger that looks like the picture in McDonald's, they dont come like that, it's a f**kin lie!!!
the moon landing
elf's
hippo
god
o zone layer
alaska
Dracula
microwaves

 

I don't believe in anything i cant see with my own two eyes!!

So actually my list is wrong, i saw keith chegwin in the street one day, i wish i had fly kicked him in the head, i regret not doing that every day of my life!

[JungleCat03]

One other known source of global dimming is from contrails from aircraft. One contrail on it's own isn't going to make a lot of difference. When you take all of them into account though, they can have a drastic effect. After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, all aircraft were grounded for a few days, giving scientists a rare opportunity to study the effect of aircraft contrails. The results were staggering. Rather than simply measure the peak daily temperature, which varies naturally, they decided to look are variance in temperature range, and found that immediately after 9/11 whilst all aircraft were grounded, the temperature shot up by a whole 1 degree. This may not sound like much to the layman, but this figure is huge, and very disturbing. After the aircraft were allowed to fly again, the temperature range fell back to previous levels. Imagine that just one factor can alter temperatures so significantly.urn a Garden of Eden into a living hell.

I'm not saying it's all rubbish but this is most unlikely to be statistically significant.

It's the equivalent of calling 2 allins with 72 and flopping quads, then saying "ffs, dunno why I always folded:&^&^"

Still, it will upset flushy if I'm wrong so if anyone with a reasoned counter argument feels like stepping up, don't hold back!