I hear that people are too insignificant to affect the planet on a global scale.

[andrewducker]

thanks to henriksdal

Comments

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

Any word about whether the ash is likely to have a cooling effect?

[andrewducker]

I assume so. It was still pretty nice out there today though!

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

I don't know how long it takes ash to affect temperatures. I'm hoping we get a summer which isn't especially hot.

[bart-calendar.livejournal.com]

For three to five years if it does what they think it will do.

[oldmangrumpus.livejournal.com]

It isn't a very large eruption; that's the problem. It's ejecta just happens to be right where the jets want to be.

[bart-calendar.livejournal.com]

The thing is that scientists are saying now that the way it will make winter colder in Europe for the next three to five years means that the carbon offset from two days of missed flights is minimal - since people will use more energy to keep warm.

Plus, to make up for the revenue loss the airlines are going to run three times as many flights per day once they can fly again, so overall, in this one case, nature has fucked us more than we could fuck it.

[missedith01.livejournal.com]

Aren't most of the people who needed to get from a to b still going to need to get there, tho? So some of the co2 hasn'r been saved but delayed.

This is my summer in the garden with the nipper. It'd better not be cooled too much!

[sbisson.livejournal.com]

It's a tab misleading, as graphs go, as it only shows CO2 emissions. Volcanic eruptions emit a huge tonnage of a whole range of gases - including many that have greenhouse effects (both heating and cooling).

[andrewducker]

Including Sulphur-based emissions, which will produce acid rain and the like.

But I was more wanting to show how huge the emissions are from air traffic, which this does nicely.

[d-c-m.livejournal.com]

Ah Mother Nature. You rock.

[drplokta]

You should note that this has now been corrected -- the original numbers were out by an order of magnitude. You hot-linked the graphic, so it's updated automatically (unless you have it cached).

[andrewducker]

Thank you - I'd have missed that entirely!