Saving Ourselves—and Polar Bears Too

Although the world’s attention is increasingly focused on halting global warming by reducing emissions of carbon dioxide, created when carbon-rich fuels like coal, oil and gasoline are burned, most of the current warming is not due to carbon dioxide.  Yes, in the future CO₂ will be the most powerful driver, so emissions must be eliminated.  But for the present, however, common pollutants like ozone, or smog, and black carbon, or soot, are the principal culprits, especially in the Arctic, where ozone is responsible for one-third to half of the warming during winter and spring.  The pollution is transported from industrialized countries in the Northern Hemisphere to the Arctic quite efficiently during these seasons.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has created a short animation showing how smog has increased with industrialization, and how it moves in to blanket the Arctic (http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/goto?3340).  Saving polar bears, seals and other wildlife that live in what is sometimes called the Earth’s “air conditioner” will require concerted efforts to eliminate both smog and soot, starting immediately.