Fun fact: the whole "global cooling" thing in the 60s and 70s was primarily the result of sulfur dioxide. Sulfur dioxide has a much more immediate effect than

Fun fact: the whole "global cooling" thing in the 60s and 70s was primarily the result of sulfur dioxide. Sulfur dioxide has a much more immediate effect than most greenhouse gases, and reflects a great deal of sunlight--enough to significantly decrease global temperature. But it has a more important consequence than that--acid rain. This led to a huge push to eliminate it and other toxins from emissions. Because it's in acid rain, of course, this means it has a relatively short half-life in the atmosphere. Give it a few years, and it begins to all drop out. Thus, with the campaign against acid rain, sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere drastically decreased... ... and suddenly everyone started having to worry about global warming because they had just eliminated one of the main chemicals offsetting the warming. Ironic, isn't it?