Future of Climate – August, 2022

I read an article this morning that claimed air pollution decreased by over thirty percent recently but that temperatures continue to rise because the air pollution helped to cool the planet. My first reaction was that I’ve ready conflicting information and most people are likely confused.

Going back to An Inconvenient Truth, Gore claimed we were headed for disaster and our planet was and is heating up fast. He show correlation between industrialization and climate warming. He had charts and graphs showing a trend that made the future look grim. Ice at the polls receding at record rates. Natural disasters increasing. And, temperatures that at some point could make going outside nearly impossible.

I am unclear on a handful of issues.

Is there a difference between greenhouse gases and air pollution?

What is causing air pollution?

Is water vapor considered a greenhouse gas.

If so, how would we expect anyone to control how much water is absorbed into the atmosphere and what will the effects be of increased water pressure?

Does increased heat cause more water to be retained in the atmosphere thereby increasing temperatures steadily and, if so, what could cause that trend to reverse or re-balance?

Does purchasing carbon offset credits help?

What can the average person do today to help with climate change, if anything?

Most people think that switching to electric cars and doing a little recycling is going to solve the issue. I doubt it. I think the U.S. needs an organization focused entirely on distributing factual information to people and stopping spread of misinformation. Recycling, for example, is single stream resulting in most items simply getting put in the landfill. Offering most incentives for people to recycle makes sense to me and anything we can do to minimize the overflowing landfills sounds good.