of replacing biofuel cooking with black carbon-free cookers (solar, bio, and natural gas) in South and East Asia is dramatic: over South Asia, a 70 to 80% reduction in black carbon heating; and in East Asia, a 20 to 40% reduction." Biodegradation Condensed aromatic ring structures indicate black carbon degradation in soil. Saprophytic fungi are being researched for their potential role in the degradation of black carbon. Policy options Many countries have existing national laws to regulate black carbon emissions, including laws that address particulate emissions. Some examples include: banning or regulating slash-and-burn clearing of forests and savannas; requiring shore-based power/electrification of ships at port, regulating idling at terminals, and mandating fuel standards for ships seeking to dock at port; requiring regular vehicle emissions tests, retirement, or retrofitting (e.g. adding particulate traps), including penalties for failing to meet air quality emissions standards, and heightened penalties for on-the-road "super-emitting" vehicles; banning or regulating the sale of certain fuels and/or requiring the use of cleaner fuels for certain uses; limiting the use of chimneys and other forms of biomass burning in urban and non-urban areas; requiring permits to operate industrial, power generating, and oil refining facilities and periodic permit renewal and/or modification of equipment; and requiring filtering technology and high-temperature combustion (e.g. supercritical coal) for existing power generation plants, and regulating annual emissions from power generation plants. The International Network for Environmental Compliance & Enforcement issued a Climate Compliance Alert on Black Carbon in 2008 which cited reduction of carbon black as a cost-effective way to reduce a major cause of global warming. See also Nuclear winter Asian brown cloud Global dimming Peat bog Environmental impact of the coal industry Diesel exhaust References Further reading External links Integrated Assessment of Black Carbon and Tropospheric Ozone , 2012, United Nations Environmental Programme. Why Black Carbon and Ozone Also Matter, in September/October 2009 Foreign Affairs with Veerabhadran Ramanathan and Jessica Seddon Wallack. The Climate Threat We Can Beat, in May/June 2012 Foreign Affairs with David G. Victor, Charles F. Kennel, Veerabhadran Ramanathan UCSD Researchers: Where International Climate Policy Has Failed, Grassroots Efforts Can Succeed; Control of greenhouse agents other than CO2 needs to reach the local level, according to a new Foreign Affairs essay April 26, 2012 University of California, San Diego Allotropes of carbon Fire Environmental science Articles containing video clips Particulates Smoke Air pollution Climate forcing