Page Summary

Global Dimming is the unseen half of Global Climate Change.    We actually  have two serious problems temporarily counterbalancing each other.   Because they offset each other, they are commonly seen by the unschooled eye as nothing to be concerned about.'   

Here's the Real Skinny:   As a result of all the pollution that humans have pumped into the atmosphere, (particulate matter such as smoke and dust) we have significantly reduced the amount of sunlight reaching the surface of the Earth.   The result is a reduction of the Earth's temperature of about one and a half degrees Fahrenheit.    This has offset a portion of the consequences of the huge quantities of methane and carbon dioxide we are pumping onto the atmosphere which has caused an upward temperature rise by of about two and a half degrees Fahrenheit.   The net result is that the actual temperature shift has been only about one degree Fahrenheit.    This has lulled many people into thinking that Global  Climate Change is not really a serious problem.    

A work in Process

This page is still under construction.   It will be a summary of Global Dimming.   

Until the page is complete, readers are directed to the PBS, Nova video titled "Global Dimming."   You can find a copy of the video and an online analysis of it at:  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sun/about.html '