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China To Begin Submitting Air Pollution Reports
smitty777 writes "China will start to publish air pollution reports, possibly in response to reports from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing which has been publishing its own data. This report is significant in that it's based on the PM2.5 standard, which measures the more harmful particles that are less than 2.5 microns. This comes on the heels of a separate report that lists China as the worst polluter worldwide. According to this report, China now produces 6,832 m tons of CO2, a 754% increase since 1971. While the U.S. is in second at 5,195 m, this represents an increase of only 21%. This article notes 'the rapid growth in emissions for China, India, and Africa. This will continue as their middle classes buy houses and vehicles. The growth in Middle East emissions is staggering, a reflection of their growing oil fortunes.' While we're on the subject of India, their pollution levels are thought to be responsible for a dense cloud of fog that is so thick it created a cold front, and is repsonsible for a number of deaths."
Fascinating.
Although the source there puts the odds at "Likely," without quantification. It's also the lowest category of confidence they have. The consensus appears to say that's it's more likely than not, but not as certain as the mere fact that it's getting hotter.
One Anti-ACC point I've seen lately is that of cities being hotter because they're bigger: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_heat_island
This supposedly skews the results to 'prove' ACC, although this is apparently overrated.
I've only been reading wiki today, and your source.