Geoengineering Could Alter Global Climate. Should It?
December 06, 2024 at 08:35PMHumans: we’re ingenious, and dedicated to creature comforts. If we won’t stop the activity causing climate change maybe we could just block the sun a little, or science up some other way to keep the planet from burning. We’re already trying, that science is geoengineering, people are pursuing experiments that sound like sci-fi but are not, and there are lots of open questions: Should we play with the environment like this? Will we give up on trying to reduce carbon dioxide levels? What if a rogue billionaire comes to control planet-altering technology? Skibba carefully explores all of the above in this worthy read.
Modern geoengineering schemes date back to the early 2000s, when scientists first suggested an unprecedented experiment: If they dumped iron filings in the ocean, the material could spark vast phytoplankton blooms that would in turn draw in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Afterwards, the algae would eventually die and sink to the ocean floor, the theory suggested, taking the carbon down, too.
Such an experiment isn’t without risk. When agricultural run-off enters the ocean, for instance, pesticides and artificial fertilizers have caused toxic algae blooms, posing problems for fisheries and public health. Still, in 2004, a team led by oceanographer Victor Smetacek at Germany’s Alfred Wegener Institute tested the concept with several tons of iron sulfate in an iron-poor region near Antarctica, which indeed produced a phytoplankton bloom that began sinking a week later. Such activities were subsequently restricted by an updated version of an international accord called the London Convention and Protocol, which forbids polluting oceans with wastes, including dumping iron nutrients, except for “legitimate scientific research.” Then in 2012, rogue businessman Russ George took a ship off the Pacific coast of British Columbia and dumped some 100 tons of iron sulfate into the water. Critics debated whether George’s project violated international law, and no researcher has pursued iron fertilization since.
Other, more speculative geoengineering ideas have been developed by researchers over the years, too. For instance, astronomers have proposed strategies that would be deployed in space and partially block the Earth from the sun, such as launching a giant, tethered shield shade between them, or periodically blasting moon dust into space. It’s an out-there idea, said Benjamin Bromley, a University of Utah astrophysicist who led a study on the possibilities for lunar dust and who concedes he’s ventured out of his lane. “But it’s absolutely worth exploring. We would hate to miss an extraordinary opportunity to buy us some more time, should the critical measures we take on Earth fail.”
from Longreads https://longreads.com/2024/12/06/geoengineering-could-alter-global-climate-should-it/
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