Vancouver Secrets

Global Warming Accelerating Because of Plasma, LCDs

A gas used in the making of flat screen televisions, nitrogen trifluoride (NF3), is being blamed for damaging the atmosphere and accelerating global warming.

They overlooked NF3 in the Kyoto protocol as it was only produced in tiny amounts when the treaty was signed in 1997. The gas is estimated to be 17,000 times as powerful as carbon dioxide.

Professor Michael Prather from the University of California told ABC’s The World Today program that output of the gas needs to be measured.

“One of my titles for this paper was Going Below Kyoto’s Radar. It’s the kind of gas that’s made in huge amounts,” he said.

“Not only is it not in the Kyoto Treaty but you don’t even have to report it. That’s the part that worries me.”

He estimates 4,000 tons of NF3 will be produced in 2008 and that number is likely to double next year.

“We don’t know what’s emitted, but what they’re producing every year dwarfs these giant coal-fired power plants that are like the biggest in the world,” he said.

“And it dwarfs two of the Kyoto gases. So the real question we don’t know is how much is escaping and getting out.”

Ooops.. just bought one. Can’t win.

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