Other Pollutants that Cool the Atmosphere

We have all heard about Global Warming and I'm sure that many of us know a lot about it. Carbon Dioxide and other greenhouse gases are what causes the warming of our planet. They trap the sun's infrared radiation just like the glass in greehouse. These gases stay in the atmosphere for hundreds of years and with the excessive amount of greenhouse gases we produce, like the combustion or gasoline in our car's engine, it doesn't seem as though they will ever go away. But that's not what this article is about.

Do you know that there are other pollutants that aren't warming the atmosphere? Instead these pollutants cool the atmosphere which makes it harder to predict the rate and extent of Global Warming to our world. These pollutants are known as atmospheric aerosols. Aerosols are particles so small that they can remain suspended in teh atmosphere for days, weeks, or even months. These come from both natural and human sources.

Sulfur haze is an example of aerosol. It refelcts sunlight back into space. This reduces the amount of solar energy reaching our planet's surface which in causes the cooling of the atmosphere. Sulfur emissions that produce sulfur haze actually come from the same smokestacks that produces carbon dioxide. Volcanic eruptions, for example, produces particles containing sulfur.

Unlike the greenhouse gases (e.g. Carbon Dioxide) which remains in the atmosphere for hundreds of years, sulfur emissions remain in the atmosphere for only days, weeks, or months. Greenhouse gases also warms the planet twenty-four hours a day unlike sulfur haze which only cools the planet during the day time when there's sunlight.

I can't really say that we shouldn't worry about atmospheric aerosols since it still has a negative effect on our environment and our health (Sulfur emissions area respiratory irritant which only means that they are not good for our health). It might not have the same amount of negative effect as Carbon Dioxide but it has and will always have that negative effect. We all have to care for our environment or there won't be anything left for future generations. It is important that we watch our actions and make sure that we are not causing any more problems to our environment. Every little bit helps and if we all act on it, then we might be able to provide a better way of life for future generations which includes our children and granchildren.