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A recent article in Science News suggest that over the last decade or so decreased amounts of aerosol gases released into the Earth's atmosphere have resulted in warmer waters in the ocean. Research has shown that aerosol gases actually cool the surface of the North Atlantic by creating thicker and longer-lasting clouds, which in turn prevent the Sun from shining onto the ocean. With decreased levels of aerosol in our atmosphere we have seen a reduction in these clouds which has resulted in warmer waters. Warmer ocean waters, of course, lead to more hurricanes.
This creates quite the problems for humanity because it forces a bad situation either way. If we were to increase the levels of aerosol released into the atmosphere we would see our air quality regress which would be harmful to millions of people. However, if the Earth's waters continue to warm we will continue to see hurricanes occur more frequently which will also be harmful to very many people.
While there is no way to directly fix either problem without making the other one worse, I think we can find a happy medium which reduces the dangers of both. It almost sounds silly, but to minimize risks of both problems, we need to increase emissions of aerosol gases within a reasonable amount: Enough to cool down North Atlantic without creating hazardous air quality.
Pollution is never a good thing, but a little bit of it may actually do more good for the environment than bad. Perhaps you should drive your car to work more often instead of biking or walking.
Read the entire article here: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/351186/description/Cleaner_air_may_have_brought_more_storms
This seems to be a lose-lose situation. We can either breathe clean air, or not have members of our population die from hurricanes. To us in rural Clover, hurricanes are not a big issue, but to places on the coast, hurricanes pose a real threat. However, seeing as hurricanes are a natural disaster, I would have to say that I would prefer hurricanes more than not having clean air. We can take safety measures to defend ourselves against hurricanes, which are not exactly a common thing on mainland. Polluted air, however, effects the whole planet, and not only us, but also other species. Its not good either way, but I have to say, having clean air is better for the whole world.
ReplyDeleteI agree with River who favor the clean air more than hurricane because its only affect a certain area. we need clean air because its affect the entire world.
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