Global dimming and warming.

[Ace Otana]

A good watch. Worth the time. It seems we're completely fucked.
If you already know about global dimming or just want to get straight to the point, go 30 minutes in. However, it's probably best to watch the whole thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8RyNSzQDaU

[KichigaiNeko]

Shades of "The Day After Tomorrow"?

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

Causes and effects

Further information: Albedo, irradiance, and insolation
It is thought that global dimming is probably due to the increased presence of aerosol particles in the atmosphere caused by human action.[2] Aerosols and other particulates absorb solar energy and reflect sunlight back into space. The pollutants can also become nuclei for cloud droplets. Water droplets in clouds coalesce around the particles.[3] Increased pollution causes more particulates and thereby creates clouds consisting of a greater number of smaller droplets (that is, the same amount of water is spread over more droplets). The smaller droplets make clouds more reflective, so that more incoming sunlight is reflected back into space and less reaches the Earth's surface. In models, these smaller droplets also decrease rainfall.[4]
Clouds intercept both heat from the sun and heat radiated from the Earth. Their effects are complex and vary in time, location, and altitude. Usually during the daytime the interception of sunlight predominates, giving a cooling effect; however, at night the re-radiation of heat to the Earth slows the Earth's heat loss.

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Yep...it's ALL about the light.

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This makes alot of sense .... Good one Ace!!

[KichigaiNeko]

The burning of fossil fuels only serves to mitigate CO2 what about Methane? Nitrous Oxide, Sulphates?

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My point being is that CO2 is a weakling in the Greenhouse gases arsenal.

[Ace Otana]

The burning of fossil fuels only serves to mitigate CO2 what about Methane? Nitrous Oxide, Sulphates?

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My point being is that CO2 is a weakling in the Greenhouse gases arsenal.

The whole global warming thing and how CO2 affects our environment is actually far worse than we have ever imagined. Global dimming has been hiding the sheer power that is global warming. If it wasn't for global dimming, we'd probably be in a far worse situation right now. While at the same time, global dimming has already killed millions.

We can't do away with global dimming without dealing with global warming at the same time. Either of them would kill us. Without global dimming, global warming would be far worse.
A 1 degree increase in just three days without air traffic and the contrails produced by them that helps reflect the heat.

http://www.globalissues.org/article/529/...thersource

There's countless billions of tons of methane hydrate frozen under the oceans. If the planet warms up enough, it'll all be released and if this happens. It'll all be over. After all, all that methane would make all that CO2 look nothing more than a puff of smoke.
Also, it's not by 2050 that'll be the point of no return, it's more like 2030 actually. If not less.
Quite worrying....

[KichigaiNeko]

Yes I watched the whole video Ace...got all that. What makes sense to me it the incorporation of "Global Dimming" to account for the temperature discrepancies that the "Global Warming" camp have been putting forward.

As for what we (hominids) can do to stop it? Very little as far as I can see atm. We are between a rock and a hard place...but then again we haven't hominids been there?? I am still not a supporter of alarmism, so what CAN we do?? Making things more expensive only brings down economies that could effect change in industry practices and everyone knows how China, India and SE Asia don't give a fuck about global warming as their economies are expanding.

[Ace Otana]

I am still not a supporter of alarmism, so what CAN we do?? Making things more expensive only brings down economies that could effect change in industry practices and everyone knows how China, India and SE Asia don't give a fuck about global warming as their economies are expanding.

Well we can do something about it, right now. We can avoid it, the problem is, we're not doing anything about it. Big corporations aren't about to change, nor are corrupt countries. China, India and the like are too corrupt to care. They fail to understand that they themselves will be affected by it, and heavily. Money won't matter anymore if we reach that point of no return. We're essentially hitting ourselves against a brick wall when it comes to talking to the corrupt. They're too blind.

Realistically, I don't think there's anything we can do about it. Once those countless billions of methane hydrate gasses start being released, we're finished.
Unless you can think of a solution to avoid reaching that point, we're done.

[5thHorseman]

I enjoyed that, Ace.

[Epimethean]

Bicycling in to the office today. That's my contribution-or deduction. I promise not to fart on the way in.

[downbeatplumb]

There's countless billions of tons of methane hydrate frozen under the oceans. If the planet warms up enough, it'll all be released and if this happens. It'll all be over. After all, all that methane would make all that CO2 look nothing more than a puff of smoke.

I think this is what happened in the Permian period.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permian%E2%...tion_event

[The Grand Nudger]

Um...no? The P-Tr extinction event was characterized by increased aridity (much like the KT) -not one of the proposed effects of our current bout of climate change alarmism. Get it together, are you calling for a global drought or a global flood? They're mutually exclusive...... The thing to remember here (I don;t know why I have to mention this) is that none of those species were H.S.S. We're a little better at this game than they were, by any metrics.

(Speaking of which, the Triassic...fucking fantastic. How anyone could imagine that the events of the P-Tr event led to a planet less friendly towards life is beyond me.....)