A potential new industrially-produced greenhouse gas has been identified. The linked article describes how early analysis of a new fumigant, a replacement for methyl bromide, shows that - if it were produced in the planned quantities - it would be a significant contribution to global warming.
There's hope that, by catching it early before industry has a chance to really ramp up production, there's time to find alternatives without major hassle or cost.
I'm not an expert in greenhouse gases or fumigation or industrial chemistry. But in general, this kind of tech foresight appears to be a good idea.
One of the scientists involved says, "In AGAGE [a NASA program - see the article], we don't just monitor the big greenhouse gases that everybody's heard of. This program is also designed to sniff out potential greenhouse and ozone-depleting gases before the industry gets very big."
I wonder what other classes of technological problems this approach could be applied to? I wonder whether industry could lower its insurance costs by funding more programs like the one that discovered this problem?
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