Scientists have discovered a great paradox in nature – clean air drives global warming, while pollution keeps our planet cool.
An international team of researchers determined that current pollution levels are 30 percent lower than in 2000, but global warming from carbon dioxide emissions has increased by up to 50 percent.
Polluting particles, such as sulfates or nitrates, are known for their reflective properties and are commonly found in exhaust.
The team, in a desperate move, proposes to use aerosols again, but uses a controversial type of geoengineering to do so.
This method, called solar engineering, requires the release of sulfate particles into the stratosphere which in turn will cause reflective fog to appear around the world, Science.org report.
The study, led by the University of Leipzig, provides good news for human health – these particles are linked to millions of deaths each year – but is bleak for the future of humanity.
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While pollution has decreased by 20% since 2000, warming from carbon emissions has increased
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The team found that ocean temperatures have been increasing since 2000, which again they say is because the world has adopted policies that reduce aerosol use.
Johannes Coas, a climate scientist at the University of Leipzig and lead author of the study, told Science.org that the study was carried out using instruments on NASA’s Terra and Aqua moons, both of which collect data about Earth’s atmosphere.
The device also gathers intelligence about radiation entering and leaving Earth, enabling research to understand the increase in infrared heat trapped by greenhouse gases.
Other instruments on the satellite show a decrease in reflective light coming from Earth.
Scientists used NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites (pictured) to study the atmosphere and found that fog was reduced because the air was cleaner. Less fog means more radiation
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Venkachalam Ramaswamy, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Laboratory of Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, told Science.org that there is only one explanation for this — cleaner air. Dynamics Laboratory. “It is very difficult to find alternative reasons for this,” he said.
All of this data allowed the team to analyze fog in the atmosphere, leading them to identify fog in North America, Europe and East Asia that largely disappeared from 2000 to 2019.
The findings sparked the idea of returning pollution particles to the atmosphere, which in turn would reflect solar radiation back into space and ultimately limit or reverse human-caused climate change.
The team, in a desperate move, suggested using aerosols again, but resorted to controversial geoengineering to do so. This method was proposed by the Stratosphere Controlled Turbulence Experiment, which was funded by Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
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This method was proposed by controlled turbulence experiments in the stratosphere, which was funded by Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
This $3 million initial test will use a high-altitude science balloon to lift about four pounds of calcium carbonate dust — the size of a small bag — into the atmosphere 12 miles above the New Mexico desert.
This will result in a tubular area half a mile long and 100 yards in diameter.
Over the next 24 hours, the balloon will be guided by the propeller again through this artificial cloud, as onboard sensors monitor the dust’s ability to reflect off the sun and its effect on the thin air around it.
However, SCoPEx was put on hold, amid fears that it could trigger a catastrophic chain reaction, wreak climate havoc in the form of severe droughts and hurricanes, and kill millions worldwide.
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