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These surfaces at scale will be a game changer for fighting climate change. They seem like magic. Here’s a key quote from Wikipedia: > Some estimates propose
by nostromo 3y ago
These surfaces at scale will be a game changer for fighting climate change. They seem like magic. Here’s a key quote from Wikipedia:
> Some estimates propose that if 1–2% of the Earth's surface area were dedicated to PDRC that warming would cease and temperature increases would be rebalanced to survivable levels.
Solar near people and PDRCs away from people (where solar is impractical) along with a reduction in Carbon is a feasible plan today.
- adolph 3y ago> These surfaces at scale will be a game changer for fighting climate change. Aren’t the materials just reflecting heat into the atmosphere, which due to human activity has greater heat carrying capacity? The materials would be good for reducing energy consumption (cost-benefit ratio tbd).
- stubish 3y agoTo put that in perspective, in 2014 the estimate was artificial structures covered 0.6% of the Earth's surface. It might take a while to double the amount of buildings, roads etc. and cover it all with PDRCs
- datameta 3y agoAre artificial drivable and walkable surfaces counted?
- hinkley 3y agoYou can't run tires on a reflective surface and expect it to remain reflective.
- datameta 3y agoThas wasn't quite what I was implying, but actually, figuring out economical high albedo roads would be fantastic.
- hinkley 3y agoI think in the grand scheme of things we are more likely to start making asphalt and concrete out of basalt, for the CO2 absorption.
- galangalalgol 3y agoIron fertilization of equatorial oceans would make for very high albedo algae blooms. The ocean absorbs the vast majority of absorbed solar radiation. It has been pointed out that at low angles it reflects almost all light, but that is when the energy has gone through the most atmosphere and the water or land would absorb much less anyway. Napkin math scaling up previous fertilization experiments indicates about 1.5 billion USD per however long the blooms last, to trigger a snowball earth. We'd stop when it got cold enough.
- junofan 3y agoEasily verified from ice core data. The UN Convention on Biological Diversity banned large-scale iron fertilization experiments in 2008. Cynically, I don’t think anyone’s figured out how to make money on it either.
- pjc50 3y ago> UN Convention on Biological Diversity I really wish people would stop inferring financial motives when other, far more obvious motivations are right there.
- ben_w 3y agoIf the 1.5 billion USD per event estimate is correct, it has to be banned because it's cheap enough that people don't need to make money on it — it's about what Oxfam raises every 18 months.
- solardev 3y agoUntil you drive on them on a sunny day...
- 3y ago
- stubish 3y agoQuoting https://science-atlas.com/faq/how-much-of-the-earth-is-inhabited-by-humans/ https://science-atlas.com/faq/how-much-of-the-earth-is-inhab...: "According to the FAO Global Land Cover SHARE database, produced in 2022, 0.6% of Earth’s land surface is defined as ‘Artificial surfaces’. Artificial surfaces include any areas that have an artificial cover as a result of human activities such as construction (cities, towns, transportation), extraction (open mines and quarries) or waste disposal. This figure gives us an estimate of roughly 900,000 km2 of human-covered land worldwide."
- gonzo41 3y agoDoes that figure include the ocean?
- stubish 3y agoNo. It is the percentage of land surface. Earth is cosmically insignificant and incomprehensibly large, both.
- adrianN 3y agoCover 1-2% of the Earth's surface with solar panels and you have so much spare energy that you can do all kinds of crazy stuff, like sucking carbon dioxide out of the air and turning it to diamonds for fun.
- ahoka 3y agoWhatever you we use that energy on will probably create heat though.
- troyvit 3y agoSeriously. 1-2% of Earth's surface is a _lot_ of surface.
- tromp 3y agoIndeed; at 9.2 trillion m^2, the Sahara desert sits right in that range at 1.8% of Earth's 510 trillion m^2.
- euroderf 3y agoCover that much of the Earth and you've got a good start on making a Trantor.
- tomcam 3y agoDeep cut
- morsch 3y agoAs a term of comparison, here's a back of the envelope calculation estimating that 0.18% of the surface is covered by roads and parking areas. https://www.reddit.com/r/theydidthemath/comments/zwni88/request_how_much_of_earths_surface_area_is/ https://www.reddit.com/r/theydidthemath/comments/zwni88/requ... Approximately 1% is covered by any kind of construction: https://www.quora.com/What-percentage-of-Earths-land-is-used-for-infrastructure-like-roads-buildings-all-pavement-etc https://www.quora.com/What-percentage-of-Earths-land-is-used... Almost 15% of land area (not total surface) has been "modified" by humans: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/10/human-impact-earth-planet-change-development/ https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/10/human-impact-earth-pl... This includes agriculture, mining and, somehow, pollution.