Project Syndicate (h/t
Mark Thoma):
The combustion of fossil
fuels, wood, and other biomass increases the amount of airborne
particles, which, in a somewhat simplified manner, we can describe as
“white” or “black.” Both types can be found in varying amounts in all
emissions. Most black particles stem from small-scale and inefficient
burning of biofuels, and, in Asia and Africa, from the burning of
agricultural waste. By contrast, white particles consist largely of
sulfur from the burning of coal and oil.
CommentsBecause
black particles contain soot and absorb sunlight, they are believed to
increase global warming. White particles, however, reflect some of the
incoming sunlight back into space, producing a cooling effect on Earth’s
climate.
CommentsIndeed,
according to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change, the cooling effect of white particles may counteract as much as
about half of the warming effect of carbon dioxide. So, if all white
particles were removed from the atmosphere, global warming would
increase considerably.
CommentsThe dilemma is that
all
particles, whether white or black, constitute a serious problem for
human health. Every year, an estimated two million people worldwide die
prematurely, owing to the effects of breathing polluted air.
Furthermore, sulfur-rich white particles contribute to the acidification
of soil and water.
Unfortunately, I think we're going to be screwed no matter what as far as global warming goes. I get the feeling we're getting into that famed hockey stick stage, and in a few years we'll be cussing the climate change deniers. Hopefully I'm wrong. Again. As far as ag is concerned, some people are
considering what may be coming (h/t
Big Picture Ag):
Scientists at Stanford University in California and Purdue University in
Indiana say global warming is going to hit hard in Corn Belt states
where it most matters — the corn market. The study, financed by the U.S.
Department of Energy, says that the corn market will be walloped in the
coming years by climate change.
Factors such as market policies
or oil prices have comparatively little effect on corn prices compared
to global warming, the study says. In fact, heat waves sparked by rising
global temperatures are expected to become more common, withering crops
in the Midwest, scientists say.
Farmers would be forced to
increase their crops’ heat tolerance or move northward to farm near the
Canadian border to avoid the heat waves.
“Severe heat is the big
hammer,” Noah Diffenbaugh, an assistant Stanford professor of
environmental Earth system science, has said in recent media interviews.
“These are substantial changes in price volatility that come from
relatively moderate global warming.”
“U.S. corn-price volatility
exhibits higher sensitivity to near-term climate change than to energy
policy influences or agriculture-energy market integration,” wrote
researchers Diffenbaugh, Thomas Hertel, Martin Scherer and Monika Verma
in the article published on Sunday.
That's my big concern, changes in climate making the land we've got less productive.
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