3. 70's: Global cooling -- Ice Age Coming
31. Cartoons and magazine covers webarchive; pdf
39. NASA Global Land-Ocean Temperature
44. Global Dimming
View a brief history of global dimming in this slide show.
In the early 21st century, it's become clear that air pollution can significantly reduce the amount of sunlight reaching Earth, lower temperatures, and mask the warming effects of greenhouse gases. Climate researcher James Hansen estimates that "global dimming" is cooling our planet by more than a degree Celsius (1.8°F) and fears that as we cut back on pollution, global warming may escalate to a point of no return. Regrettably, in terms of possibly taking corrective action, our current understanding of global dimming has been a long time in the coming, considering the first hints of the phenomenon date back to 18th-century observations of volcanic eruptions. Below, follow a series of historic events and scientific milestones that built the case for global dimming.—Susan K. Lewis
Global dimming is when clouds reflect the sun’s rays back to space. This is being caused by fossil fuel use, which also creates global warming. But, this cannot ...
What is "global dimming” and how can it counter global warming? See how this critical phenomenon was discovered.