According to a new study by the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, cutting methane and soot (including replacing all wood and biomass burning stoves) is not as beneficial to the global warming reversal scenario as cutting the emission of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. This is because the average life of soot in the atmosphere is about 2 weeks, that of methane is 10 years, and that of CO₂ is 1000 years. Focusing on soot and methane may have health benefits, according to lead researcher Steve Smith, but to stabilize global climate, focus should be on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Read more here.