Old: Coal Power Stations Cause Global Warming; New: Coal Power Stations Are Delaying Global Warming

 Wikimedia Commons

The climate change crowd has become laughable in their attempts to explain why their models have failed. The latest effort is to blame the rapid growth of the Chinese economy and sulfur-containing gases emitted from the many new Chinese coal fired power stations.

Sulphur pollutants from coal-fired power stations in China have tended to cool the global climate over the past decade in contrast to the warming effect resulting from rising concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, scientists have found.

A study has shown that the levelling of global average surface temperatures between 1998 and 2009 can be explained by the cooling effect resulting from the sulphur-containing gases emitted from mainly Chinese power stations over the same time period.

Although carbon dioxide emissions have risen during the past decade, surface temperatures have not followed the same rapid increase seen in the previous three decades, which has led some climate sceptics to suggest that global warming this century has "stopped".

However, a study by Robert Kaufmann, of Boston University, and his colleagues has discovered that the levelling off of surface temperatures during this period can be explained by the sulphate particles released into the atmosphere from coal-burning power stations. This has the effect of reflecting sunlight and heat away from Earth.

I wonder if President Obama will now retract his pledge to bankrupt the coal industry?