Posts tagged pollution control

SeaSwarm Nanotech Oil-Scrubbing Robots (by MIT)

Brett, how soon do you think that countries will begin actually 'scrubbing' the air and water to remove pollution in an all-out effort to reverse global warming? ... Will it really take blackened skies and toxic oceans before this kind of proactive response begins? — Asked by Anonymous

That is an interesting question, yet embedded in it is a common misconception.  Greenhouse gasses are actually invisible, like methane and carbon dioxide.  These generally let visible light into the atmosphere, which heats the planet, but then traps the heat.  On the other hand, particulates, visible pollution like soot from diesel motors, dust, and aircraft contrails actually reflect the heat before it reaches the planet. 

Therefore, the visible pollution or “blackened skies” you mentioned will cause this global dimming, which ironically helps counteract global warming.

Obviously, the data suggests that the greenhouse gasses have been winning the battle, and we are heating up.

In terms of countries continuing to put teeth into regular emission regulations and carbon removal, I expect the developing world will continue to slowly ramp down pollution over the next couple of decades.  The developed world will continue improving as well.

Chinese General Wants to Breathe

The Chinese two-star General Liu Yazhou said in Hong Kong’s Phoenix magazine that China must reform or perish, reported the Sydney Morning Herald on August 11. Liu said a social system will inevitably perish if it “fails to let its citizens breathe freely and release their creativity to the maximum extent, and fails to place those who best represent the system and its people into leadership positions”.

Liu thought that The United States has succeeded because of its “long-surviving rule of law and the system behind it.” China’s rise is unsustainable without democracy, he asserted, adding that “a transformation from power politics to democracy” will occur in the next 10 years.

(Did he mean “breathe” literally?  Let’s hope so!)

Car Plume of smoke