article thumbnail

Back in Black: Creating positive changes by focusing on a short-lived pollutant

HumanNature

AMAP Assessment 2015: Black Carbon and Ozone as Arctic Climate Forcers.” This is because of black carbon’s enhanced ability to absorb visible light; it actually absorbs nearly a million times more energy per unit mass than CO 2. Compounds that can absorb energy are important because they alter the radiative balance of our Earth’s atmosphere.

article thumbnail

Environmental Law: Government and Public Policy Towards the Environment

Environmental Science

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) : A group of inert chemical used in many industrial and everyday processes such as our refrigerators that are not broken down at lower atmospheric levels and rise to the upper levels, destroying ozone. They are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone, CFCs, and hydrofluorocarbons.