Re:Toxic fluorinated compounds found in drinking water of 33...
by snowwrestler on Monday January 30, 2017 @06:11PM
(#13525962)
This is analogous to why scientists and policymakers focus so much on CO2 when worrying about global warming.
Other compounds, like water vapor or methane, trap more heat than CO2. But they leave the atmosphere much more quickly: water rains out after a week or two, and methane breaks down in about a decade. But CO2 persists for many decades, perhaps even longer depending on the state of the biosphere.
So despite that fact that CO2 is harmless to human health at atmospheric concentrations, and actually beneficial to plants and some animals, the systemic harm due to its longevity can be huge.
Other compounds, like water vapor or methane, trap more heat than CO2. But they leave the atmosphere much more quickly: water rains out after a week or two, and methane breaks down in about a decade. But CO2 persists for many decades, perhaps even longer depending on the state of the biosphere.
So despite that fact that CO2 is harmless to human health at atmospheric concentrations, and actually beneficial to plants and some animals, the systemic harm due to its longevity can be huge.