Actually not clickbait! My money was on methane.
Article is about “Sulfuryl fluoride, which is estimated to be up to 7,500 times more potent than carbon dioxide in terms of its greenhouse-gas potential.”
It’s being pumped into the atmosphere faster than it breaks down, so the total amount is always increasing.
But research has increasingly found the gas is not as safe as once thought, in large part because it stays in the atmosphere for about 40 years.
Oof. So even if use is reduced in practical cases, it’s still bad news.
40 years sucks, but it’s well in the range of correctable in a single lifetime. We aren’t always so lucky with other potent GHGs. If CA can act quickly.
Why is sulfuryl fluoride used so much by California in particular? Is it really used there at a much higher rate per capita than any other state, or does it just use the most because it’s a big state? What makes this problem California-specific?
"Banning the gas is also “not a slam-dunk” because there is no cost-effective alternative, [Dylan Gaeta, author of the paper that traced emissions of sulfuryl fluoride,] said. Though other states use pesticides that do not release greenhouse gases, the western drywood termite common in southern California cannot be killed with most other treatments, he added.
However, the pest control industry could trap and destroy the gas instead of releasing it post-treatment, which researchers say would significantly reduce emissions.
Edit: formatting
Ah, thank you! I read the article, but apparently managed to gloss over that part.
I’ve been seeing quite a few negative articles about Cali lately. Gee I wonder, is it because they’re the only state making meaningful laws against capitalism. Nah no way
The source is equally or more important than the content imo
That might explain everything. Can’t have meaningful laws in this country! That’s unconstitutional! /s
Well it replaced Methyl Bromide which depletes the Ozone.
I know pure CO2 is used to kill rodents, because it sinks down into their burrows. I wonder why CO2 couldn’t be used directly to fumigate a house. Or maybe a mixture N2 and CO2 (beer gas)? Maybe it would take longer to kill everything.
Also I take issue with blaming California. Blame DOW chemical, or the timber industry for harvesting shitty wood?
