adamsappel
Member
Who's Trump's pick to head FDA? Probably someone who wants to get rid of it altogether. Progress!
Harvard Researchers identify aerosol that may cool Earth and repair ozone damage
- Thread starter Geist-
- Start date
- Status
Who's Trump's pick to head FDA? Probably someone who wants to get rid of it altogether. Progress!
diablos991
Can’t stump the diablos
Why pursue any option if they will all use that gross coal stuff for energy.
Why are you thinking this takes more energy than it's worth?
Have you calculated the volume of this chemical needed or researched the cost and scalability of production?
Making aerosol can't be that bad. I'd imagine we could get a pretty efficient mix from our greatest scientific minds that would ease production.
Brawndo Addict
Banned
I've been advocating for this (Solar Radiation Management) for a few years now. There's really no reason not to do this given the enormous risks inherent in all the various tipping points in the climate system that would be game over for humanity if triggered. It's efficient in the same way that nuclear power plants are many magnitudes more efficient than everything else; a kilogram of well-placed aerosol can offset over a hundred thousand kilograms of CO2. And I don't think anyone can dispute that current timeline for global progress is far too slow to prevent the more disastrous climate projections we are facing.
This is literally a pause button that buys us the decades we need to transition global infrastructure away from fossil fuels and towards renewables. And because it's incremental and temporary, we can test it and pull back if we see that unforeseen consequences are worse than the known consequences of global warming (although it's hard to imagine something worse).
Yes it doesn't solve ocean acidification or the overconcentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. But nothing else in existence can either. We can't solve those problems until we can efficiently pull CO2 from the atmosphere and contain it. And since that kind of technology is decades away, what do we need? A pause button.
This is literally a pause button that buys us the decades we need to transition global infrastructure away from fossil fuels and towards renewables. And because it's incremental and temporary, we can test it and pull back if we see that unforeseen consequences are worse than the known consequences of global warming (although it's hard to imagine something worse).
Yes it doesn't solve ocean acidification or the overconcentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. But nothing else in existence can either. We can't solve those problems until we can efficiently pull CO2 from the atmosphere and contain it. And since that kind of technology is decades away, what do we need? A pause button.
Ganzlinger
Member
Hope it works
CarlieCaplin
Member
Huh...guess I gotta update my material.
I thought ozone depletion in the polar regions is mainly caused by unreactive substances which carry chlorine into the polar regions.
I mean, sulfuric acid is probably the biggest player in atmospheric nucleation but I've never heard about its ozone depleting potential.
I thought ozone depletion in the polar regions is mainly caused by unreactive substances which carry chlorine into the polar regions.
I mean, sulfuric acid is probably the biggest player in atmospheric nucleation but I've never heard about its ozone depleting potential.
perfectchaos007
Member
Research funding provided by:
Principate
Saint Titanfall
The point of that matter is we have no idea of logistical feasibility and the scale that would be needed to make a dent. It just strikes me as a huge irony to put your eggs in this risky basket thinking things will be fine while we're curebtly completely fumbling the solution we made for climate change. Tempered expectations even the scientists behind this state as such.
If it's a 1:1 ratio of how much pollution is created to how much this magical aerosol can undo then yeah it's pointless.
I don't think anyone is actually saying this aerosol is going to magically fix everything. But if it's something that can help put off the worst for a bit longer it's good enough.
There's a solution, let's put more stuff into the atmosphere that we don't quite understand, and in 10 years we'll realize that was a huge mistake.
Geoengineering scares the shit out of me. Especially since we have no idea what the full-scale consequences are, especially in certain geographic zones. Are we willing to sacrifice the good of the few for the good of the many? Are we willing to at least just risk it? It's a very tough ethical problem to answer. I'm not a fan of the ramifications, much less who gets to decide what gets put into the atmosphere while operating on limited knowledge.
Geoengineering scares the shit out of me. Especially since we have no idea what the full-scale consequences are, especially in certain geographic zones. Are we willing to sacrifice the good of the few for the good of the many? Are we willing to at least just risk it? It's a very tough ethical problem to answer. I'm not a fan of the ramifications, much less who gets to decide what gets put into the atmosphere while operating on limited knowledge.
Unknown Soldier
Member
Someone better start building the perpetual motion train and tracks which go around the Earth ASAP
This isn't a new idea. We've had this in our back pockets for a long time. But honestly, it's a last ditch thing, that shit stays in the atmosphere forever (not literally but close enough). Very cool it's still being worked on though.
Climate change is real and scary, but it isn't end of days scary yet. We have options.
Climate change is real and scary, but it isn't end of days scary yet. We have options.
Brawndo Addict
Banned
Just to make a more succinct post:
Runaway global warming trigger points become more and more likely as the Earth gradually warms. These must be prevented from occurring at all cost.
If you feel confident that the current pace of global change is sufficient to prevent those outcomes then feel free to ignore Solar Radiation Management. If you don't then let's recap its benefits and negatives.
Efficiency: For every 1 kg of Aerosol you can offset 100,000+ kg of CO2.
Costs: Estimates vary wildly, but we're talking $30-$100 billion a year, not trillions. Chump change for the global community.
Timeliness: Immediate results that can be monitored in real-time. Can increase or decrease intensity as needed.
Negative: Could cause bad things to happen.
Counterpoint: Our current trajectory is also very bad.
Negative: Does not reduce the output of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Counterpoint: This doesn't prevent the global community from continuing to reduce CO2 output, it just mitigates the harm of CO2 we do put out.
Question: What about ocean acidification?
Answer: There is no way to stop or reverse ocean acidification outside of removing huge quantities of CO2 from the atmosphere. That kind of technology and scale does not exist yet.
Runaway global warming trigger points become more and more likely as the Earth gradually warms. These must be prevented from occurring at all cost.
If you feel confident that the current pace of global change is sufficient to prevent those outcomes then feel free to ignore Solar Radiation Management. If you don't then let's recap its benefits and negatives.
Efficiency: For every 1 kg of Aerosol you can offset 100,000+ kg of CO2.
Costs: Estimates vary wildly, but we're talking $30-$100 billion a year, not trillions. Chump change for the global community.
Timeliness: Immediate results that can be monitored in real-time. Can increase or decrease intensity as needed.
Negative: Could cause bad things to happen.
Counterpoint: Our current trajectory is also very bad.
Negative: Does not reduce the output of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Counterpoint: This doesn't prevent the global community from continuing to reduce CO2 output, it just mitigates the harm of CO2 we do put out.
Question: What about ocean acidification?
Answer: There is no way to stop or reverse ocean acidification outside of removing huge quantities of CO2 from the atmosphere. That kind of technology and scale does not exist yet.
Rebel Leader
THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
And thus solves the problem once and for allmore like
Chmpocalypse
Blizzard
Seconded. Fantastic film, a really awesome surprise if you go in (snow)blind.
Lol I was about to say the exact same thing. All hail the Viking Union!
R10Neymarfan
Member
Well white people had a good run...
Seriously though if things get bad we might have too. Evolution would kick in and I rather have future generations
What a strange quote. Whatever we do to solve climate change, whether it be addressing the causes or the symptoms, will be a type of geoengineering. Everything we've done to lead us to this point has been a form of geoengineering, it has just been undirected and unplanned till recently.
Been talked about for a while, the freakonomics guys have touched on the subject several times including aerosol solutions in SuperFreakonomics in 2009.
Turns out the UK have a grant in 2011 to start testing it.
http://freakonomics.com/2011/09/02/finally-a-garden-hose-to-the-sky/
Turns out the UK have a grant in 2011 to start testing it.
http://freakonomics.com/2011/09/02/finally-a-garden-hose-to-the-sky/
Pretty much. Probably as far back as the failure of the Kyoto Protocol, possibly much sooner, we were committed to having to endure a half-century of misery or rapid geoengineering.
A Fish Aficionado
I am going to make it through this year if it kills me
Oh. So, chemtrails. 😂
- Status
Similar threads
- Locked