This suggests that opportunities exist to achieve reduced emissions without sacrificing economic growth, according to Hansen. For example, he said, if the World Bank encouraged investments in modern technology and air quality control in India and China, two of the world's most polluted countries, reductions in tropospheric ozone and black carbon would not only improve local health and agricultural productivity but also benefit global climate and air quality, Hansen said. Some solutions to reducing greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide are are already in place, he added. Methane, one of the largest causes of climate change, can easily be captured and reused as fuel. Methane produced by rice cultivation, possibly the largest anthropogenic source, can be reduced by factors such as fertilizer choice and intermittent irrigation.
Farmers can also adjust the diet of livestock to reduce methane emissions.
Tropospheric ozone is a stew of volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides emitted by transportation vehicles, power plants and industrial processes. Because ozone in the free troposphere can have a lifetime of weeks, it is a global problem illustrated by the fact that emissions from Asia have a significant effect on air quality in the United States. Developing technology is the best cure for these emissions. An Alternative Scenario. All Rights Reserved.