
Chinese air pollution dimmed sunlight enough to impact solar panels - bem94
https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/07/air-pollution-costs-china-1-9-billion-in-solar-electricity-each-year/
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m3nu
Reminds me of "global dimming", which _may_ counteract global warming. BBC
Horizon had an episode about it a long time ago.

> Global dimming also creates a cooling effect that may have partially
> counteracted the effect of greenhouse gases on global warming.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_dimming](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_dimming)

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wickerman
I think this highlights why these discussions have shifted from "global
warming" to "climate change", as stuff like this might give people the
impression that global dimming will solve the issues caused by greenhouse gas
emissions.

Edit, was reading through it - I find it'd be interesting to note that in some
cases the dimming effect actually amplifies warming:

>Brown clouds have been found to amplify global warming according to
Veerabhadran Ramanathan, an atmospheric chemist at the Scripps Institution of
Oceanography in La Jolla, CA. "The conventional thinking is that brown clouds
have masked as much as 50 percent of global warming by greenhouse gases
through so-called global dimming... While this is true globally, this study
reveals that over southern and eastern Asia, the soot particles in the brown
clouds are in fact amplifying the atmospheric warming trend caused by
greenhouse gases by as much as 50 percent."

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me_me_me
> as stuff like this might give people the impression that global dimming will
> solve the issues

It did in the Matrix. oh wait...

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getcrunk
Lol. This doesn’t bode well for our collective future.

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ShorsHammer
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_di...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions_per_capita)

Emissions neglect exports also. So despite exporting most of the worlds shiny
new things, China is doing pretty damn well. Which country do you represent
and do you think it "bodes" well for our collective future given it's
comparative environmental damage?

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raxxorrax
Carbon dioxide is colorless and not responsible for the dimming.

Still, pointing the finger on China because of pollution is shortsighted.
People in developed nations produce much more overall emissions. Especially if
you look at averages.

We just currently don't really have experience or solutions for developing
countries without a certain amount of pollution. And if they reach a fully
developed level, it is pretty certain, that their overall emissions are
significantly higher.

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lostmymind66
so..are we now willing to admit that they are contributing significantly to
global climate change and overall pollution?

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FerretFred
It would be ironic if that "dimming" was caused by increased manufacturing
demand for solar panels...

