The NYTimes reports on a UN report.  Asia’s rise of the middle class is catching up with it and it’s affecting us all.  A large brown cloud, often a mile deep, is often formed over much of Asia and even sometimes extending as far east as California.  What makes up this brown cloud?  Soot and toxic chemicals from coal-fired power plants, automobiles, wood-burning kitchen stoves, and slash-and-burn agriculture.

I find this brown cloud to be an illustrative tale of the complexity of the climate change issue.  There is no doubt this development has disastrous effects- $82 billion/year on pollution-related health issues, the further melting of the Himalayan glaciers, altered weather patterns like decreased monsoon rains and increased flooding in areas.  However, this gigantic cloud is also mitigating some of the worst effects of climate change for the rest of the planet because it is reflecting a large amount of sunlight back into space.  If this brown cloud would all of the sudden disappear, we would see accelerated polar ice cap melt and increased temperatures, among other consequences.  Perhaps this brown cloud is like the recent economic bubble and when it finally bursts, we will feel the real effects of what we’ve been doing.  If anything, this UN report should serve to spur us into even greater action to reduce greenhouse gas emmissions, as there really is not going to be any easy fix.