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After reading this, I spent several weeks reading about climate change. I concluded that there is a solution, which was suggested alongside the first well-done

After reading this, I spent several weeks reading about climate change. I concluded that there is a solution, which was suggested alongside the first well-done climate model: a solar shield. Manabe and Wethereld in 1975 found that a 2% reduction in solar radiation would cancel the effect of a doubling in atmospheric CO2 levels.[0,1] A recent study published in PNAS July 31 this year has found this type of solution can be implemented at lower cost than previously believed.[2] Atmospheric sulfur dioxide enrichment or cloud brightening are other solutions that are not reversible and therefore are more likely to have unintended consequences. Even if nothing is done, mountaintops are likely to be habitable even at very high levels of warming, which would give humanity a chance at avoiding extinction. Still, none of this should be used to downplay the seriousness of the issue of climate change and the urgency of action. If we wait too long, this brief window where we can effect engineering solutions and transition to a smaller and more sustainable society will close. 0. https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/atsc/32/1/1520-0469_1975_032_0003_teodtc_2_0_co_2.xml https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/atsc/32/1/1520-04... 1. https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/atsc/32/11/1520-0469_1975_032_2044_teocts_2_0_co_2.xml https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/atsc/32/11/1520-0... 2. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2307434120 https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2307434120

jfim 3y ago
While mountaintops might be habitable temperature-wise, they're not exactly good places for agriculture and having access to fresh water.
sigilis 3y ago
That last article indicates that the proposed structure will have to solve the sort of problems that a space elevator would take. We may as well pin our hopes on a pallet of umbrellas launched towards L1. Has there been any test solar shade hardware launched?
rexpop 3y ago
That won't ameliorate the effect of CO2 in ocean acidification or human cognitive function. There's really no substitute for decreasing atmospheric CO2.
myshpa 3y ago
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/30/radical-ways-to-fix-the-earth-are-they-magic-bullets-or-just-band-aids https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/30/radical-... Dismissing SRM technology, Prof Joeri Rogelj of Imperial College, London, called it “irresponsible, dangerous and a threat to the manageability” of our survival, saying: “It is not a solution but an extremely dangerous band-aid that covers up the global warming problem without healing it, creating a false and unwarranted sense of climate safety while the core of the problem continues to fester.” https://phys.org/news/2023-08-viewpoint-guardrails-geoengineering-gamble-potentially.html https://phys.org/news/2023-08-viewpoint-guardrails-geoengine... Without more research and guardrails, geoengineering is a costly gamble, with potentially harmful results

jfim 3y ago

While mountaintops might be habitable temperature-wise, they're not exactly good places for agriculture and having access to fresh water.

sigilis 3y ago

That last article indicates that the proposed structure will have to solve the sort of problems that a space elevator would take. We may as well pin our hopes on a pallet of umbrellas launched towards L1. Has there been any test solar shade hardware launched?

rexpop 3y ago

That won't ameliorate the effect of CO2 in ocean acidification or human cognitive function. There's really no substitute for decreasing atmospheric CO2.

myshpa 3y ago

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/30/radical-ways-to-fix-the-earth-are-they-magic-bullets-or-just-band-aids https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/30/radical-... Dismissing SRM technology, Prof Joeri Rogelj of Imperial College, London, called it “irresponsible, dangerous and a threat to the manageability” of our survival, saying: “It is not a solution but an extremely dangerous band-aid that covers up the global warming problem without healing it, creating a false and unwarranted sense of climate safety while the core of the problem continues to fester.” https://phys.org/news/2023-08-viewpoint-guardrails-geoengineering-gamble-potentially.html https://phys.org/news/2023-08-viewpoint-guardrails-geoengine... Without more research and guardrails, geoengineering is a costly gamble, with potentially harmful results