It's hard to believe

A picture of Adam Ferguson, published in New York Times dated April 22., 2009 :


















Black carbon –emitted by cookstoves like this one in Kohhua, India– is responsible for 18 percent of the planet's warming, studies estimate.
Asthonishing, isn't?

An extract of the paper signed by Elisabeth Rosenthal :
"In Kohlua, in central India, with no cars and little electricity, emissions of carbon dioxide, the main heat-trapping gas linked to global warming, are near zero. But soot – also known as black carbon – from tens of thousands of villages like this one in developping countries is emerging as a major and previously overlooked source of global climate change. (...).
While carbon dioxide may be the No. 1 contributor to rising global temperatures, scientists say, black carbon has emerged as an important No. 2, with recent studies estimating that it is responsible for 18 percent of the planet's warming, compared with 40 percent for carbon dioxide. Decreasing black carbon emissions would be a relatively cheap way to significantly rein in global warming – especially in the short term, climate experts say."