Albedo
Sounds like a city in Spain, but it actually refers (in earth science) to the ability of surfaces to reflect solar energy. I just found that out today.
I'm trying to build up my knowledge base so I can be an only partially clueless dad when Michael reaches school-age.
Started the day off reading about soot. Soot from diesel fuel (in the West), soot from coal-burning and biofuels (in the developing countries). I lived for about three years in Iowa -- the snow that got dumped there in, say, October would basically stay there until April, blackening and hardening as the winter dragged on. You could break your toe kicking at it.
According to NASA's James Hansen and Larissa Nazarenko, sooty snow absorbs solar energy rather than reflecting it back into space, contributing to global warming and possibly also to recent meteorological weirdness -- early springs, thinning sea ice, melting glaciers.
[The scientists] estimated the soot effect was equivalent to putting a 1-watt bulb, the size of a miniature Christmas tree bulb, over every two square yards in the Northern Hemisphere. The effect was greater in northernmost snow regions, and almost nonexistent in the tropics.
Makes me wonder about the climatic impact of Christmas.
A press release from NASA can be found here. I'm waiting for the sleek new industry website dedicated to soot as an essential part of our ecosystem.
11:21:18 AM 
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