Al Gore, who is a Nobel Peace Prize winner, asked the world to reduce the burning of wood and fuel to curb ‘black carbon’. He insists that the soot produced is accelerating the melting of ice in polar and mountainous regions. Al Gore is one of the most prominent figures in the fight against global warming and is gaining more and more credibility as his research continues.
I choose to take Al Gore’s advice seriously because the man has done countless studies on the impacts we have on our atmosphere and the grim results which are caused by it. Gore, backed by government ministers and scientists, said that the soot, also known as "black carbon", from engines, forest fires and partially burned fuel was collecting in the Arctic where it was creating a haze of pollution that absorbs sunlight and warms the air. The soot is also being deposited on snow, which in return darkens its surface and reduces its ability to reflect sunlight back out into space.
According to the article, “A study this month indicated that soot from industry, cars, farming and wood fuel burning has been responsible for half the total temperature increases in the Arctic between 1890 to 2007. Temperatures there are rising twice as fast as anywhere else on the planet, making it the region worst affected by climate change.” The soot problem is causing pollution problems all across the higher altitude regions of the world. According to Gore, “Black carbon is settling in the Himalayas. The air pollution levels in the upper Himalayas are now similar to those in Los Angeles." With that being said I believe this problem needs to be addressed immediately, because it makes no sense that the beautiful scenery surround the Himalayas has to be scarred with the same pollution that lingers over Los Angeles.
The problem is widespread across all of the land and water. Permafrost is warming fast and at its margins thawing at an alarming rate. In Russia, the tree line has advanced up hills and mountains at 10 meters a year. Finally, sea levels are rising at tremendous rates due to the rapid melting of ice sheets. The Greenland ice sheet has continued to melt in the past four years of summer and melting has lasted twenty days longer than usual at sea level.
Al Gore’s research reports that “New satellite data suggests the ice is much thinner than it used to be. For the first time in existing records, both the north-west and north-east passages were ice-free in summer 2008.” This seems to be caused by Arctic waters warming as a result of the increase of warmer waters coming from the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Similarly like I mentioned about the snow earlier the loss of reflective, sea ice also means that more solar radiation is being absorbed by the water, which in return heats the surface layer further.
In conclusion, I believe we need to listen to Gore and trade in our jacked-up diesel trucks for something that is less dangerous for the environment. Because even if we aren’t directly impacted here, our choices are definitely noticeable on the other parts of the world.
http://www.burningissues.org/car-www/latest_news/AlGore-soot-Guardian.html
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