Analysis & Opinions - WIRED

To Help Cool the Climate, Add Aerosol

| October 5, 2016

Slashing sulfur dioxide pollution in the United States and Europe over the past decades counts as one of the biggest environmental success stories. Air pollution kills. The US Clean Air Act will add more than a year of life to the average American. But decreasing this pollution also comes with an important, unintended, and unexpected consequence: a warming planet.

Aerosols, the fine particles in air pollution, reflect a small portion of sunlight back into space and, thus, actually help keep global warming in check. That's true despite the carbon dioxide emissions coming from the same smokestacks that warm the planet....

Continue reading: https://www.wired.com/2016/10/help-cool-climate-add-aerosol/

For more information on this publication: Belfer Communications Office
For Academic Citation: Keith, David and Gernot Wagner.“To Help Cool the Climate, Add Aerosol.” WIRED, October 5, 2016.

The Authors

David Keith

David Keith

  • Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
  • Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics, SEAS, Harvard University
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