Now, "Global Dimming"....

[Rosco T.]

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/13/science/13DARK.html

Globe Grows Darker as Sunshine Diminishes 10% to 37%

Defying expectation and easy explanation, hundreds of instruments around the world recorded a drop in sunshine reaching the surface of Earth, as much as 10 percent from the late 1950's to the early 90's, or 2 percent to 3 percent a decade. In some regions like Asia, the United States and Europe, the drop was even steeper. In Hong Kong, sunlight decreased 37 percent.

Yet the dimming trend — noticed by a handful of scientists 20 years ago but dismissed then as unbelievable — is attracting wide attention. Research on dimming and its implications for weather, water supplies and agriculture will be presented next week in Montreal at a joint meeting of American and Canadian geological groups.

(snip)

Dr. James E. Hansen, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in Manhattan, said that scientists had long known that pollution particles reflected some sunlight, but that they were now realizing the magnitude of the effect.

"It's occurred over a long time period," Dr. Hansen said. "So it's not something that, perhaps, jumps out at you as a person in the street. But it's a large effect."

(more)

[FighttheFuture]

1. Yup, it's right on schedule...

[jus_the_facts]

2. That's what happens when you burn megatonage of FOSSIL FUELS.....

....not to mention ALSO creatin' literal SUNS inside OUR ATMOSPHERE! :nuke: :eyes:

[GiovanniC]

3. Jesus.

Famines. Catastrophic climatic shifts and events.

We strangle and starve humanity in the name of convenience.

And one paradox of this whole thing is that alternative energy, such as solar power, would help alleviate this problem. But if this goes on much longer, solar power won't even be an option.

We're painting ourselves into a corner.

[Zorra]

4. The fundies must be ecstatic.

...."So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time. "But in those days, following that distress, "'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;.... Mark chapter 13

[Az]

5. Get off the freaking oil people

You don't even have to look to the ecodamage for a reason to get off oil. Just supply and demand should tell us the ultimate fate for our addiction. Its a limited supply. We can't make the stuff. We are way too dependent on it. We need to start now to disengage ourselves from it. NOW.

[GiovanniC]

6. Saw This Story on the News Last Night

And a few points:

Less Sunlight = Smaller Plants/Trees
Less Sunlight = Fewer Plants/Trees
Less Sunlight = Less Rainfall
Less Rainfall = Even Smaller Plants/Trees
Less Rainfall = Even Fewer Plants/Trees
Fewer Plants/Trees = Even Less Rainfall
Fewer Plants/Trees = More Famine
Fewer Plants/Trees = More CO2, Less O2
More CO2 = More Pollution
More Pollution = Less Sunlight

Rinse & Repeat Until We're All Dead.