Those major climate benefits can obscure the air quality benefits renewable power yielded, wrote the authors, from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the renewable consulting firm Clean Kilowatts. To illuminate those co-benefits, the researchers quantified how much the use of wind and solar reduced toxic air emissions, focusing specifically on sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxides (NOx), which are both produced during fossil fuel combustion.
They found emissions of SO2 and NOx – both linked to increased asthma risk and a variety of other health issues – decreased by a total of 1m metric tons over that three-year period.
Well, yes, but less SO2 increases climate change. World’s a complicated place……
A million tonnes isn’t much when spread across USA.
Moreover, are these measured results or derived from models ?
New study published in Cell Reports Sustainability finds emission reductions provided $249bn of climate and health benefits
I’m going to assume that number is utter bollocks.
@Tim
“less CO2 increases climate change” isn’t the usual assertion…
Well spotted, now corrected.
That consulting firm should really change its name to Look At These Lovely Green Kilowatts so that everyone can see how impartial and serious they are.
Hey Tim, how come you get an edit feature to sort out your fuck ups yet us plebs don’t?
Will the answer be ‘If you want an edit feature on a blog, start your blog’ perhaps?
I’m not aware of any blog software that doesn;t allow you to edit the actual posts…..
Less SO2 means that your roses won’t do so well.
There were complaints on Teesside when the SO2 emissions went down.
Well, yes, but less SO2 increases climate change. World’s a complicated place……
Especially when you’re trained as a civil engineer and you’re trying to do science.
The three authors of the paper have a PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering and two PhDs in Environment and Resources between them. Degrees in Environment and Resources are basically a civil engineering variant.
Kind of like hiring a retired Chartered Accountant to write papers on economic policy.
Wasn’t there a report that decreasing emissions from shipping changed rainfall patterns? Was that put down to SO2?
Reduced sulpher emissions from cargo shipping boosts global warming.
That report is from this year, but I remember reading about it years ago.
Yeah, that reporting is very recent, not sure exactly when I heard about it, but there’s this;
https://www.science.org/content/article/earth-s-climate-may-not-warm-quickly-expected-suggest-new-cloud-studies
From 2016, which sorta feels about right. Maybe.