Wednesday, June 03, 2015

It is possible to clean up pollution on Earth. This is carbon monoxide. It takes the place of oxygen carried on blood.

...Carbon monoxide (click here) forms whenever carbon-based fuels—including coal, oil, natural gas, and wood—are burned. As a result, many human activities and inventions emit carbon monoxide, including: the combustion engines in cars, trucks, planes, ships, and other vehicles; the fires lit by farmers to clear forests or fields; and industrial processes that involve the combustion of fossil fuels. In addition, wildfires and volcanoes are natural sources of the gas....

This image is from the year 2000. The density of carbon monoxide is densest in the Northern Hemisphere. The areas between Africa and South America is where an air circulation conduit exists. 

...According to MOPITT, carbon monoxide concentrations have declined since 2000. The decrease is particularly noticeable in the Northern Hemisphere. Most air quality experts attribute the decline to technological and regulatory innovations that mean vehicles and industries are polluting less than they once did. Interestingly, while MOPITT observed slight decreases of carbon monoxide over China and India, satellites and emissions inventories have shown that other pollutants like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide have risen during the same period....
 
The image to the right is the same satellite image 14 years later. 

I want people to think about this for a minute. Carbon monoxide has a life of one month. Now, there was steady decline in the levels for 14 years which is noted on a graph at this website. 

Carbon dioxide has a far longer 'residence time' in Earth's atmosphere. As a rule it is in the troposphere for five years. When it leaves the troposphere it enters the ocean. In ocean water it can remain there for a century or more. People and governments need to decide their priorities and act to implement them as soon as possible, like, ah, yesterday. 

"Scientific Understanding of CO2" by the IPCC (click here)