Black Carbon the global warming multiplier

Black Carbon, or soot, primarily comes from burning wood, dung, coal (unscrubbed smokestack or in the open), from forest fires, from 3rd world dirty diesel fuel.  Soot comes off the fire with CO2, but acts differently.

CO2 is mostly invisible, stays in the atmosphere almost forever if not absorbed, and only a percentage can be absorbed at any one time.  CO2 acts as a blanket, increasing the earths temp by holding in heat that would otherwise be radiated into space.

Black Carbon can be seen, floating about it absorbs the incoming solar heat, increasing the atmospheric temperature in a completely different way than CO2.  Winds carry it around the world, falling to earth within a few weeks, but most of it falls within the first few days in the region it was generated, that which falls on snow and ice absorb sun light raising local temps and accelerating the melt

From Pakistan to China intense levels of heating and cooking with wood, dung, grass, plus the dirtiest power plants and diesel trucks in the world produce smoke that is visible from space, much of it settleing on Himalaya glaciers.  Within 15 years the glaciers will be nearly gone.  Large areas of Southeast Asia gets 30 to 40% of its water from the glacier melt.  Famine and starvation on a scale the earth has never seen is near, the vultures will be fat.

Black carbon is thought to be about 40% of the heat gain problem among the various greenhouse gasses.  It is also the easiest to halt, with the shortest payback, a couple of months it's out of the atmosphere, a hard snowfall and it is hidden from absorbing heat into the glacier.  There is a big push in India to get people to use a new style of cooking stove that burns 60% less fuel and sends up 70% less soot, but at $20 many cannot afford it.  Cleaner diesel and a turning away from coal has to be immediate as well.

In some cities in the US, mostly small resort locations, Vail for example, fire places are now regulated, fewer are allowed to be built, there are days where it is not allowed to use them at all.  We have a fireplace, but rarely use it, and now, knowing this, it may never burn again.

Mid 70's (F) here in central Kansas the last few days have seen each with a record high.  Mid December and the cows are covered with flies, and the drought continues.  Meat prices up 8% by late spring.  The water table is dropping, irrigation from underground sources has it's limits.