Global Warming: Will Less Sunlight Do The Trick?

It all boils down to photosynthesis, which relies not only on carbon dioxide and the sun, but also on an ample water supply. In deserts and places where water is scarce, vegetation is limited by both the amount of water and the abundance of sunlight, which evaporates much of what little water there is. If the sun's rays are blocked, there will be less evaporation from the soil, leaving more water for plants to consume. With less water stress, plants grow more.

Many scientists have thought that elevated levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would stimulate photosynthesis, resulting in increased plant growth. But it's not that simple. Blocking some sunlight might decrease plant growth in certain areas, but it would also decrease evaporation. That would impact the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which could lead to even more climate change.

What Weubbles and his team found relfects what the meteorology community has known all along: The climate is extremely delicate and complex. Touch one smart part, and the effects ripple across the world.

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