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Dim and dimmer: could bad air be good for us?

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Shanta Barley | 16:33 UK time, Thursday, 23 April 2009

Does air pollution cool the planet, as BBC News writes today, or does it heat it up? Both, as it turns out, the dirty backstabber.

jeremyclarkson.jpgResearch published today in the journal Nature reports that since the 1960s an extra 10% of carbon dioxide has been stored in the soil due to enhanced plant productivity, and it's all thanks to air pollution. The study's lead scientist, Dr Lina Mercado, says that polluted skies scatter light more effectively than clean skies, 'leaving fewer leaves in the shade' and encouraging plants to soak up more CO2.

Now that pollution's been found to actually be good for the environment - or the plant bits of it at any rate - expect Jeremy Clarkson to be nominated for a Treehugger award. 'Do your bit' - and leave a brick on the accelerator while you pop into the shops.

Not so fast.

While air pollution cools the climate in some ways, it also warms things up by absorbing the Sun's heat. In fact, NASA's Dr Drew Shindell argues that aerosols could be responsible for half if not more of the warming of the Arctic, which is heating up at a rate about twice as fast as the rest of the world. Best to leave that brick at home until the scientists have sorted it out.

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