NASA Study Shows Health, Food Security Benefits From Climate Change Actions

[Date Prev] [Date Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]

 



Jan. 12, 2012

Steve Cole
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0918
stephen.e.cole@xxxxxxxx

Adam Voiland/Rani Gran
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-614-6949/301-286-2483
adam.p.voiland@xxxxxxxx / rani.c.gran@xxxxxxxx

RELEASE: 12-017

NASA STUDY SHOWS HEALTH, FOOD SECURITY BENEFITS FROM CLIMATE CHANGE ACTIONS

WASHINGTON -- A new study led by a NASA scientist highlights 14 key 
air pollution control measures that, if implemented, could slow the 
pace of global warming, improve health and boost agricultural 
production. 

The research, led by Drew Shindell of NASA's Goddard Institute for 
Space Studies (GISS) in New York City, finds that focusing on these 
measures could slow mean global warming 0.9 ºF (0.5ºC) by 2050, 
increase global crop yields by up to 135 million metric tons per 
season and prevent hundreds of thousands of premature deaths each 
year. While all regions of the world would benefit, countries in Asia 
and the Middle East would see the biggest health and agricultural 
gains from emissions reductions.

"We've shown that implementing specific practical emissions reductions 
chosen to maximize climate benefits also would have important 
'win-win' benefits for human health and agriculture," said Shindell. 
The study was published today in the journal Science.

Shindell and an international team considered about 400 control 
measures based on technologies evaluated by the International 
Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Laxenburg, Austria. The new 
study focused on 14 measures with the greatest climate benefit. All 
14 would curb the release of either black carbon or methane, 
pollutants that exacerbate climate change and human or plant health, 
either directly or by leading to ozone formation.

Black carbon, a product of burning fossil fuels or biomass such as 
wood or dung, can worsen a number of respiratory and cardiovascular 
diseases. The small particles also absorb radiation from the sun 
causing the atmosphere to warm and rainfall patterns to shift. In 
addition, they darken ice and snow, reducing their reflectivity and 
hastening global warming.

Methane, a colorless and flammable substance that is a major 
constituent of natural gas, is both a potent greenhouse gas and an 
important precursor to ground-level ozone. Ozone, a key component of 
smog and also a greenhouse gas, damages crops and human health. 

While carbon dioxide is the primary driver of global warming over the 
long term, limiting black carbon and methane are complementary 
actions that would have a more immediate impact because these two 
pollutants circulate out of the atmosphere more quickly. 

Shindell and his team concluded that these control measures would 
provide the greatest protection against global warming to Russia, 
Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, countries with large areas of snow or ice 
cover. Iran, Pakistan and Jordan would experience the most 
improvement in agricultural production. Southern Asia and the Sahel 
region of Africa would see the most beneficial changes to 
precipitation patterns.

The south Asian countries of India, Bangladesh and Nepal would see the 
biggest reductions in premature deaths. The study estimates that 
globally between 700,000 and 4.7 million premature deaths could be 
prevented each year.

Black carbon and methane have many sources. Reducing emissions would 
require that societies make multiple infrastructure upgrades. For 
methane, the key strategies the scientists considered were capturing 
gas escaping from coal mines and oil and natural gas facilities, as 
well as reducing leakage from long-distance pipelines, preventing 
emissions from city landfills, updating wastewater treatment plants, 
aerating rice paddies more, and limiting emissions from manure on 
farms.

For black carbon, the strategies analyzed include installing filters 
in diesel vehicles, keeping high-emitting vehicles off the road, 
upgrading cooking stoves and boilers to cleaner burning types, 
installing more efficient kilns for brick production, upgrading coke 
ovens and banning agricultural burning. 

The scientists used computer models developed at GISS and the Max 
Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, Germany, to model the 
impact of emissions reductions. The models showed widespread benefits 
from the methane reduction because it is evenly distributed 
throughout the atmosphere. Black carbon falls out of the atmosphere 
after a few days so the benefits are stronger in certain regions, 
especially ones with large amounts of snow and ice.

"Protecting public health and food supplies may take precedence over 
avoiding climate change in most countries, but knowing that these 
measures also mitigate climate change may help motivate policies to 
put them into practice," Shindell said. The new study builds on a 
United Nations Environment Program/World Meteorological Organization 
report, also led by Shindell, published last year.

"The scientific case for fast action on these so-called 'short-lived 
climate forcers' has been steadily built over more than a decade, and 
this study provides further focused and compelling analysis of the 
likely benefits at the national and regional level," said United 
Nations Environment Program Executive Director Achim Steiner.

To see interactive and embeddable country-by-country graphs and maps 
of the impact of emissions reductions, visit: 

http://www.giss.nasa.gov/staff/dshindell/Sci2012/ 

For related imagery, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/interactive-charts.html

	
-end-



To subscribe to the list, send a message to: 
hqnews-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To remove your address from the list, send a message to:
hqnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Index of Archives]     [JPL News]     [Cassini News From Saturn]     [NASA Marshall Space Flight Center News]     [NASA Science News]     [James Web Space Telescope News]     [JPL Home]     [NASA KSC]     [NTSB]     [Deep Creek Hot Springs]     [Yosemite Discussion]     [NSF]     [Telescopes]

  Powered by Linux