Global Dimming

Film evenings begin with potluck refreshments and social hour at 6:30 pm,
followed by the film at 7:30 pm, followed by a discussion after the film.

Global Dimming
by Duncan Copp

This documentary paints an incredibly alarming picture of the Earth’s future wherein the average global temperature may be 10 degrees hotter in 2100. This skyrocketing heat has not been predicted by scientists who study global warming. It is a new discovery and has only now become an issue of concern to the global warming scientists. This skyrocketing heat is caused by global dimming. This effect has been lessening the effect of global warming and if the pollutants are removed the temperature would rise by up to 10 degrees worldwide. Part of the research was conducted during the no-fly days just after 911 when (almost) all planes were grounded and there were no contrails. The effect was first spotted by Gerry Stanhill, an English scientist working in Israel. Comparing Israeli sunlight records from the 1950s with current ones, Stanhill was astonished to find a large fall in solar radiation. “There was a staggering 22% drop in the sunlight, and that really amazed me,” he says. Intrigued, he searched out records from all around the world, and found the same story almost everywhere he looked, with sunlight falling by 10% over the USA, nearly 30% in parts of the former Soviet Union, and even by 16% in parts of the British Isles. Although the effect varied greatly from place to place, overall the decline amounted to 1-2% globally per decade between the 1950s and the 1990s. Gerry called the phenomenon global dimming, but his research, published in 2001, met with a sceptical response from other scientists. It was only recently, when his conclusions were confirmed by Australian scientists using a completely different method to estimate solar radiation, that climate scientists at last woke up to the reality of global dimming. It appears to be caused by air pollution. Burning coal, oil, and wood, whether in cars, power stations, or cooking fires, produces not only invisible carbon dioxide (the principal greenhouse gas responsible for global warming) but also tiny airborne particles of soot, ash, sulphur compounds and other pollutants. Even the most pessimistic forecasts of global warming may now have to be drastically revised upwards. This means a temperature rise of 10°C by 2100 could be on the cards.

Wheelchair accessible around the corner at 411 28th Street

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