Study shows CFCs, cosmic rays impact on global warming

Cosmic rays and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are responsible for changes in the global climate, a University of Waterloo scientist reports in a new peer-reviewed paper. Qing-Bin Lu, a professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Waterloo, Canada, shows how CFCs - and cosmic rays - energy particles originating in outer space - are mostly to blame for climate change, rather than carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. His paper, derived from observations of satellite, ground-based and balloon measurements as well as an innovative use of an established mechanism, is published online in the journal Physics Reports.

"My findings do not agree with the climate models that conventionally thought that greenhouse gases, mainly CO2, are the major culprits for the global warming seen in the late 20th century," Lu said.