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Russia knows how to prevent global warming - academic
MOSCOW, May 30 (RIA Novosti) - Russian scientists have found a way to prevent
global warming of the Earth, the director of the Global Climate and Ecology
Institute said Wednesday.
Russian Academy of Sciences Academic Yury Izrael told a news conference that
the method envisions air spraying of a sulfur-containing aerosol in lower
stratosphere layers at a height of 10-14 kilometers (six to 10 miles). Sulfur
drops would then reflect solar radiation.
According to scientists, one million tons of aerosol sprayed above the planet
would make possible a reduction of solar radiation by 0.5-1%, and a reduction of
air temperature by 1-1.5 degrees Celsius.
Unseasonably hot May weather with temperatures at 32.1 degrees Celsius (89.7
degrees Fahrenheit) beating a 116-year-old maximum has already seen last year's
energy consumption for this time of year surpassed by about 8% in Moscow and 12%
in St. Petersburg, a spokeswoman for the UES electricity monopoly said earlier.
Izrael said the method demands more detailed development, and that a relevant
decision on the international level should be made for it to come into force.
However, the academic said the method is not an alternative to measures to
fight climate change envisioned by the Kyoto Protocol, which contains
commitments by some countries on specific volumes of greenhouse gas emission
reductions.
"I don't want any contradiction of the Kyoto Protocol, but in parallel with
existing methods, cheaper ones should be developed. I am advocating that work be
conducted simultaneously on several methods," Izrael said.
He also said the Russian scientists' method will make the fight against
warming faster and cheaper. "It is also good that it can be stopped at any
moment," Izrael said.
The Russian academic said global temperature in the coming 100 years could
rise by 1.4-4 degrees Celsius, which, he said, will cause droughts, floods and
cyclones. He said Russia could face the extinction of 20-30% of its animals and
plants if temperatures rise by 2 degrees Celsius.
However, Izrael said the current high temperatures in Moscow are not
connected with a global climate change.
"Any fact, even the most acute should not be directly linked to climate
change, but should be considered as part of temperature fluctuations," he said.
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