World War II = Helpful?

While reading section 3 of “Global Warming in the Public Sphere” by Corfee-Morlot, et al., I was taken aback by a certain discovery. I consider myself to be well informed on a number of environmental issues but was completely surprised by how large of a role World War II played in the unveiling of the radiative properties of CO2 in the atmosphere. I had never heard of World War II’s technologies and wartime advances having such an impact on the original research of greenhouse gases. I found it ironic at how destructive wartime interests such as the use of weather modification as a strategic weapon for geopolitical warfare could possibly have a positive outcome in helping to advance the unveiling of the harmful effects of CO2 on our atmosphere. The technology that was meant to cause harm and wreckage actually opened up scientist’s eyes to a huge issue that we have come to know as global warming.

-Atusa Rezaee