A Match Made in Hell: Excess Carbon Dioxide and Air Pollution
by Jeremy Elton Jacquot, Los Angeles on 03. 2.08
Image courtesy of Nagyman via flickr
A new study by Stanford University atmospheric scientist Mark Jacobson has revealed that worsening air pollution and higher carbon dioxide emissions go hand-in-hand - the results suggest intensifying global warming will increase the number of smog-related deaths. As reported by Science's Eli Kintisch, Jacobson's climate model examined air-ocean interactions and simulated the distribution of the most commonly occurring pollutants in cities.
His model made the following assumptions: that warmer temperatures would result in fewer winds to blow the air pollution out of cities and that higher levels of water vapor would lead to the production of more ozone - the primary component of smog. Using carbon dioxide emissions data from 2006 and 1750 - for an estimate of preindustrial levels - Jacobson found that each extra degree of warming accounted for roughly 1,000 out of every 50,000 - 100,000 air pollution-related deaths.
He found this trend to be particularly pronounced in already heavily polluted cities - great news for us Angelenos. Despite the study's results, the EPA has stood fast in its decision to reject California's emissions waiver request; presumably they expect the lax federal standards to help resolve L.A.'s smog woes.
Via ::ScienceNOW: CO2 and Pollution Don't Mix Well (news website)
See also: ::NAFTA Bad For Mexico's Air Quality, ::Realtime Air Quality Mashup By AIRNow, ::A Picture is Worth... Air Pollution in China
It's going to take 50 years to even slow the progress of pollution down a little. I say we need a tax on having kids to off-set the extra carbon that will be produced over their life time.
Dear co riders of this storm. How many of you would actually do something from youre own pocket? The sad truth is that you all will have to. But do you trust the people that have slowed this process down the past 30 years? Please when you se or hear of an inventor that possibly have a new device to remedy part of the problem do buy it. It will be through your will of directing the money flow towards the good products that will save us. Not Big bussiness only giving you options and poorer solutions they own and can make money off. Simply put the old devils will not save us.
I care!