NASA Highlights New Anti-Global Warming Measures

A new NASA study has seen 14 measures named that, by curbing air pollution levels, could slow down the global warming process.

The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration says these approaches, if adopted, could bring about a drop in the expected global temperature rise over the coming 30 years of almost one degree.

The 14 listed climate change adaption measures all have one thing in common: they're intended to put the brakes on black carbon and methane emissions.

Anti-Global Warming Measures

According to the US body, Middle Eastern and Asian nations would reap the most benefits from these anti-global warming measures and, while climate change would slow, it's possible there could be up to 135 million more metric tons of crops produced a year.

Specifically, southern Asia would see its rainfall patterns change in a positive way, while Jordan, Iran and Pakistan would yield the agricultural benefits. Additionally, Tajikistan, Russian and Kyrgyzstan - all nations with significant ice levels - would be more protected against the effects of global warming than other countries.

New NASA Global Warming Study

"Protecting public health and food supplies may take precedence over avoiding climate change in most countries", lead researcher Drew Shindell - from the administration's New York City-based Goddard Institute for Space Studies - explained in a statement on the new NASA global warming study.

"Knowing that these measures also mitigate climate change may help motivate policies to put them into practice."

The NASA study aims to highlight that, while the likes of carbon dioxide (CO2) often take the lion's share of the greenhouse gas headlines, there are other gases out there and ones that, compared to CO2, are potentially easier to control.

"We've shown that implementing specific practical emissions reductions chosen to maximize climate benefits would also have important 'win-win' benefits for human health and agriculture", Shindell added.

In brief, NASA recommends the following methane reduction measures:

• Implementing coal mine gas capture technologies
• Implementing oil facility gas capture technologies
• Implementing natural gas plant gas capture technologies
• Bringing about pipeline leak reductions
• Clamping down on landfill emissions
• Bringing water treatment facilities up to date
• Putting in place regular rice paddy drainage processes
• Reducing farm manure emissions

For black carbon emissions, meanwhile, it suggests:

• Equipping diesel-powered vehicles with extra filters
• Substituting old cookers with clean-burning stoves
• Deploying more efficient coke ovens, brick kilns and boilers
• Eliminating topical farmland burning processes