Scientists Find Out Cutting Pollution Helped Accelerate Earths Warming \ stacker news ~science

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Scientists Find Out Cutting Pollution Helped Accelerate Earths Warming www.yahoo.com/news/world-warming-faster-expected-scientists-190042831.html

197 sats \ 4 comments \ @Cje95 6 Dec science

I have to say you gotta love how out of all the various pollution sources to tackle we tackled one that only backfired. I want to say it was last year maybe earlier this year that a study had come out about ocean temperatures rising quicker than expected and no one was sure why. Then boom we "discovered" clouds and the role they play in the whole system. When the world started to enforce not using diesel oil that contained sulfur cloud coverage over the oceans and in particular the shipping lanes dramatically fell. Well turns out that the sulfur particles released in the burning of diesel oil that we had just removed actually seeded cloud coverage over the oceans and kept the oceans themselves cooler. In the fight to fight climate change, we only messed up the climate more.

Now we are finding out that those impacts are traveling onto the mainland too. The study also highlights how global warming itself could be further accelerating this as higher temps tend to cause clouds to dissipate so our removal of sulfur from diesel fuel for ocean liners seems to only be making it even worse for us.

While I am all for cleaning up the environment and fixing what we have messed up, which I do feel is a common thought among people who hunt and fish, we quite frankly are causing much more widespread damage from the results so far. Now could this trend end up reversing itself and it is a short-term hit but in the long term, everything will correct itself? Maybe but at this point, I am starting to think maybe just maybe we shouldn't remove all the sulfur from the diesel and maybe focus on something else since these results are just plain bad.

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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @denlillaapan 6 Dec

this never ceased to amaze me, seriously

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @Msd0457890 6 Dec

It is surprising what I am reading in these lines when we are all aware that we have destroyed the planet due to our unconsciousness, destroying animal habitats, polluting the water, the air in all possible ways. It is incredible to know that the human being is the only being that damages and harms its habitats or its planet. I really do not know if the scientists are wrong, but what I do know is that we must become aware and we must try to cure our planet.

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @Cje95 OP 6 Dec

My reponse is kinda long so I have broken it up into two parts One I think this is just a good example of how just because we can do something doesn't mean we should, no matter what the good intentions are, when we have no idea about the effects that will have.

The cloud coverage is an issue that has pretty much become foundational at this point just look at the winter snow melts on sunny days without cloud coverage even if it is only a little bit. Sulfur dioxide is a known cloud seeder and emission reduction of sulfur was highlighted as possibly a very bad idea years ago. MIT even had a think about it which you can find here.

There are tons of other issues we could target first from plastics to coal usage etc. We plain chose an awful one to target first.

Two Its not exactly true/accurate we are the only being that harms and damages the environment. Even if we cause a mass extinction we wouldn't be the first according to the fossil record. While modern-day Cyanobacteria are fine 2.45 billion years ago when they caused the Great Oxygenation Event they "destroyed" the planet at that time because what was around could not handle high oxygen levels.

Another example is Ants while they can do a ton of good when you have ones like the Red Imported Fire Ant which has spread outside its natural habitat of South America. Now yes human sped up their spread but due to how they form balls and can float in rivers, lakes, the oceans and survive up to 12 days. They more likely than not would have moved into North America and the Caribbean over time without the need for humans due to weather patterns. Now getting out of the Americas and to Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, etc would be hard its not the craziest thing to think with some freak weather or environmental event that they would have gotten there and wreaked havoc

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Msd0457890 6 Dec

I fully understand the sulfur emissions, but what I want to emphasize again is that human beings are aware of their own destruction; animals are not aware, which is why I repeat that I am right in saying what I have said.