[Rod_Cloutier]

I saw this article today on Science daily:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 145434.htm

It claims that the atmosphere is stable and capable of removing pollutants on its own, with the exception of CO2 which continues to build up. It was an interesting read!

[americandream]

Every system, including our bodies, are capable of being overwhelmed however. There is no free pass in any system enabling one to run counter to it's fundamental properties. At some point, that equilibrium risks tipping.

[Lore]

Your tile post sounds like it was taken from a British tabloid. The actual headline"

"Atmosphere's Self-Cleaning Capacity Surprisingly Stable"

[vision-master]

Take a basket-ball and roll one layer of tape around it - that's how thick our atmoshere is.

[Graeme]

Repent, Thanks for posting this. I saw it it too but couldn't find it when I looked back. I'd like to post some of the key points:

An international, NOAA-led research team took a significant step forward in understanding the atmosphere's ability to cleanse itself of air pollutants and some other gases, except carbon dioxide. The issue has been controversial for many years, with some studies suggesting the self-cleaning power of the atmosphere is fragile and sensitive to environmental changes, while others suggest greater stability. And what researchers are finding is that the atmosphere's self-cleaning capacity is rather stable.

New analysis recently published in the journal Science shows that global levels of the hydroxyl radical, a critical player in atmospheric chemistry, do not vary much from year to year. Levels of hydroxyl, which help clear the atmosphere of many hazardous air pollutants and some important greenhouse gases -- but not carbon dioxide -- dip and rise by only a few percent every year; not by up to 25 percent, as was once estimated.


The radical is central to the chemistry of the atmosphere. It is involved in the formation and breakdown of surface-level ozone, a lung- and crop-damaging pollutant. It also reacts with and destroys the powerful greenhouse gas methane and air pollutants including hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide. However, hydroxyl radicals do not remove carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide or chlorofluorocarbons.

[americandream]

Repent, Thanks for posting this. I saw it it too but couldn't find it when I looked back. I'd like to post some of the key points:

An international, NOAA-led research team took a significant step forward in understanding the atmosphere's ability to cleanse itself of air pollutants and some other gases, except carbon dioxide. The issue has been controversial for many years, with some studies suggesting the self-cleaning power of the atmosphere is fragile and sensitive to environmental changes, while others suggest greater stability. And what researchers are finding is that the atmosphere's self-cleaning capacity is rather stable.

New analysis recently published in the journal Science shows that global levels of the hydroxyl radical, a critical player in atmospheric chemistry, do not vary much from year to year. Levels of hydroxyl, which help clear the atmosphere of many hazardous air pollutants and some important greenhouse gases -- but not carbon dioxide -- dip and rise by only a few percent every year; not by up to 25 percent, as was once estimated.


The radical is central to the chemistry of the atmosphere. It is involved in the formation and breakdown of surface-level ozone, a lung- and crop-damaging pollutant. It also reacts with and destroys the powerful greenhouse gas methane and air pollutants including hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide. However, hydroxyl radicals do not remove carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide or chlorofluorocarbons.

Much like the the sub-prime derivatives world, any stability is relative to the demands being made of the system. For the moment, we can assume that capitalism has not quite reached the scale to overwhelm the limits of the atmosphere's self-balancing mechanism. Hradly surprising given that it's pre-Cold War extent has yet to be comprehensively breached by the new players in Asia and beyond. Let's see what the next 10 years bring us.

[Vogelzang]

The atmosphere is absolutely stable. Its held to the earth by gravity. We can adapt to the tiny bit of pollution we put into the air.