Black Carbon and Ozone Responsible for Drastic Warming, Moderating these Pollutants will Produce Effective Alleviation-


Minimizing black carbon soot and ground-level ozone emissions would cause quick, considerable changes in alleviating the effects of global warming and would also contribute to overall public health and protect crop yield, according to an essay published in the September/October issue of Foreign Affairs. Written by Jessica Seddon Wallack, Director of the Center for Development Finance at the Institute for Financial Management and Research in India, and Dr. Veerabhadran Ramanathan, a scientist and Distinguished Professor of Climate and Atmospheric Sciences at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in California, “The Other Climate Changers: Why Black Carbon and Ozone Also Matter,” is a descriptive reasoning into why we need to collectively work on eliminating black carbon and ground level ozone to prevent exceeding climate tipping points. The book asserts that toxins such as these are ideal to pursue, as they are short lived in the atmosphere – around weeks to a few months – and the benefits to moderating them could be experienced almost straight away. “Right now the world is looking at well over a 2 degree rise in temperatures from the pre-industrial age” said Ramanathan. “To avoid the severe consequences associated with such a dramatic change, we need to look at other feasible complementary measures, in addition to reducing CO2 emissions that will provide near-term mitigation.”

Black carbon is generated in large part by diesel vehicles and the burning of biomass, as well as cook stoves in developing countries like China and India; playing an unfortunate role in 7 percent of child deaths worldwide due to serious respiratory infections caused by the pollutant. The carbon by-product is also accountable for almost 50 percent of Arctic warming, as well as wide-ranging snow and ice thaw in the Himalayas. Energy efficient technology that is made available in more industrial countries, such as diesel particulate filters for vehicles, cleaner-burning biomass, and more energy efficient cook stoves, can drastically ease black carbon production. Along with the dangers of black carbon, ground level or tropospheric ozone is extremely deadly to inhale and lowers crop production immensely. Tropospheric ozone, unlike the stratospheric ozone which impedes the sun’s UV rays, is created by “ozone precursor” gases such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, methane, and other hydrocarbons. Increasing the proficiency of industrialized combustion procedures can drastically lessen these gases, as it is extremely important for the growth of new crops in urbanized regions. A recent study uncovered that damage to crop yields caused by ozone gases resulted in an economic loss of $14-26 billion annually. “Tackling these two air pollutants and contributors to climate change will yield regional as well as global benefits. The health and agricultural co-benefits for the areas that do reduce emissions are especially compelling,” said author Jessica Seddon Wallack. “We hope that this article will raise awareness of the opportunity and accelerate local and regional emission reduction initiatives that contribute to global efforts to mitigate climate change.”

Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), and John Kerry (D-MA) introduced a black carbon bill earlier this year, as did Congressmen Jay Inslee, Mike Honda (D-CA) and (D-WA), Peter Welch (D-VT). A provision on black carbon is also included in the Waxman-Markey climate bill.