- BBC Science in Action just reported that scientists have proved that "the biggest cause of winter global warming in South Asia is caused by people buring wood for cooking." The carbon 14 analysis of the South Asia Dustcloud shows 2/3 of the soot particles come from recent biomass not fossil fuels like coal and petrol. The burning wood and dung is so inefficient that lots of partially burnt carbon goes up into the atmosphere and these particles are efficient at absorbing heat.
- The expert said each year in the area wood burning causes 1 in 20 deaths (2 million/yr)
- Does the cloud shadow or warm .. Their calculations show the warming effect is bigger and is effecting the monsoon.
- This is stunning : If they have only just worked out smoke is worse than Something that in many areas of the world causes a larger warming effect that CO2 is not in Climate models.
- My own culturally imperialist take is .. Usually I have cooked stuff once a day as my breakfast and lunch are uncooked. Yet I often see poor people seem to be stuck with cultural practices which make life hard work. They ignore readily available food like fruit and insist on having 2 cooked meals a day as well as some cups of tea. So women have to spend so much time collecting wood and cooking. I am not saying with a western lifestyle that I don't use 10 times as much fuel as them, just that I can see simple changes could make their lives a lot easier. What if the whole village cooked together instead of 50 different kitchens ?
- They said the Indian government is actively tackling the dustcloud problem, by promoting other technology.
- That's 2 anti-panic stories on Science In Action is it biased ? or are other sources ignoring stories that don't promote the cause ?
Recession is Good Surely
- 13/12/08 -
Surely less consumption is the best news ever for the environment, so we should be happy that there is big recession. Yet this does play well with the press .. Contrast with banging on and on about the possible Disastrous Global Warming. Seems negative stories go onand on, but positives don't get reported.
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