Greenhouse gases reach record levels

Submitted by scharrison on Sat, 11/27/2010 - 7:07pm

World Meteorological Organization shouts warning:

“Greenhouse gas concentrations have reached record levels despite the economic slowdown. They would have been even higher without the international action taken to reduce them,” said WMO Secretary-General Mr Michel Jarraud. “In addition, potential methane release from northern permafrost, and wetlands, under future climate change is of great concern and is becoming a focus of intensive research and observations.”

Unfortunately, due to the recent election's shift to the Right, the U.S. will probably be even less likely to become a strong partner (much less leader) in the global effort to reverse these trends.

Here's more on the methane buildup:

After a period of temporary stabilization from 1999 to 2006, atmospheric methane has risen again from 2007-2009. The Greenhouse Gas Bulletin reports that the likely causes were above average wetland methane emissions due to exceptionally warm temperatures at high northern latitudes in 2007 and heavy precipitation in tropical wetlands in 2007 and 2008. However, it cautions that the reasons for the recent increases are not yet fully understood.

Northern permafrost contains large reservoirs of organic carbon and methane clathrates (a form of water ice that contains a large amount of methane within its crystal structure). Rapid warming and melting of the permafrost therefore has the potential to release large quantities of methane into the atmosphere which would contribute further to global warming.

This interview is kind of a "Climate Change For Dummies" tutorial, but it's not a total waste of time:

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Success with chlorofluorocarbon reduction

Submitted by scharrison on Sat, 11/27/2010 - 7:16pm.

appears to have been mostly a trade-off:

The combined radiative forcing by halocarbons is 12%, nearly double that of nitrous oxide. Some halocarbons such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), previously used as refrigerants, as propellants in spray cans and as solvents, are decreasing slowly as a result of international action to preserve the Earth’s protective ozone layer.

However, concentrations of other gases such as HCFCs and HFCs, which are used to substitute CFCs because they are less damaging to the ozone layer, are increasing rapidly. These two classes of compounds are very potent greenhouse gases and last much longer in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.