Growing Deserts, Growing Dust Storms
Carbon dioxide emitted in China raises carbon dioxide levels everywhere. Dust and particulate pollution tends to have its greatest impacts locally, but it can cast a wide net too. New research on a massive 2007 dust storm that began in the Taklimakan desert of Xinjiang, reveals a cloud of dust that took an unusual flight around the globe, passing over the United States, Europe and Asia before returning to the Pacific Ocean, where it deposited some of its dust and minerals into the sea. Like the Atmospheric Brown Cloud, such massive dust clouds don’t just travel the Earth, spilling their pollution on distant ecosystems. They also serve to dim the sun, hurt road visibility, and abet and conceal the effects of climate change. Unfortunately, China’s dust clouds appear to be growing bigger due to desertification — a fact that goes unmentioned in reports on the Japanese cloud study. As Matt noted last year, China, which is roughly the same size as the United States, is almost one-quarter desert, and the desert is advancing at more than 1,300 square miles. That’s approximately the size of the state of Rhode Island, each year. Despite attempts to stem the spread of sand with programs seeking to lower the impact of cashmere farming, or build great green walls, the desert continues to spread thanks to unsustainable farming practices and the effects of climate change. …
Chinese Dust Cloud Circled the Globe in Two Weeks
