Folks, I connection to the YouTube video in question, I wanted to share the highlights of a post we did on this issue recently.
You can read the post here: http://wp.me/pMsAA-sU The reason the South Asian Atmospheric Brown Cloud is important is because a) it has a much worse greenhouse effect than CO2 in terms of regional impact on climate change, b) it disrupts the monsoon season in Asia, which causes food insecurity in the region, and, c) it contributes substantially to the accelerated melting of Arctic sea ice and glaciers. This is important but not surprising. But, get this: *2. Open biomass burning in the form of forest fires, land clearing through fire, and burning of agricultural wastes is also responsible for large quantities of black carbon emissions. However, unlike contained combustion, open combustion also generates a relatively larger fraction of co-emitted organic matter that produces a climate cooling effect, thus counteracting the warming caused by the emissions of black carbon from these sources. Most studies estimate that open combustion has a neutral or negative overall global warming impact, although several studies do suggest that it contributes to climate warming. In any case, open biomass burning in Asia does have important negative impacts on the regional climate and on human health. China, India and the rest of Asia contribute roughly similar quantities to black carbon emissions from open combustion.* * * What I find interesting about this statement is that it somewhat debunks the stereotype of the burning of the Amazon (or Indonesian) forest as a major cause of Global Warming. In all fairness, it’s important to point out that the disappearance of the forest as carbon sink IS a serious matter and is not factored into the equation. Let alone loss of biodiversity, watershed, and other ecosystem services. But, still, the fact that CO2 emissions could be cancelled out by the emissions of cooling particles is a chink in the stereotypes armor. Let’s be clear, though, this should not be seen as a green light to torch the forest. If anything, it is instead a call to revise our stereotypes and question our assumptions. *The Case for the Low Hanging Fruit of Climate Change* The final finding is, for me, the kicker and it has to do with the cost benefit of the different black carbon emission reduction strategies. 3. *Overall, changes in particle emissions from the household sector in developing Asia are thought to offer the largest potential for reducing near-term global climate impacts from short-lived global warming pollutants. * *At the top of this hierarchy sit household fuel and stove interventions, which, if effectively implemented, appear to consistently achieve the highest reduction in black carbon emissions per unit cost. This finding holds true for all stove and fuel interventions examined for this study. Moreover, these interventions are cost-effective not only for control of black carbon, but also more broadly for abatement of global warming.* -- J Kim Chaix The Charcoal Project charcoalproject.org (+1) 917.378.8670
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