Geoengineering Earth s Atmosphere: Potential Effects of Climate Intervention on Ecology
Written by AZoCleantechApr 6 2021
Nine of the hottest years in human history have occurred in the past decade. Without a major shift in this climate trajectory, the future of life on Earth is in question, which poses a new question: Should humans, whose fossil fueled society is driving climate change, use technology to put the brakes on global warming?
Michigan State University community ecologist Phoebe Zarnetske is co-lead of the Climate Intervention Biology Working Group, a team of internationally recognized experts in climate science and ecology that is bringing science to bear on the question and consequences of geoengineering a cooler Earth.
Environmental News Network - To Intervene or Not to Intervene? That Is the Future Climate Question enn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from enn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The climate keeps getting hotter, and officials around the world are failing to rise to the task of tackling emissions to ensure a future for our kids and grandkids. Amid this backdrop, an international team of experts suggests reflecting sunlight back into space could help keep the warming under control.
Image via Pixabay.
The team focused on exploring the potential benefits and shortcomings of using various technological means of reflecting sunlight away from our planet which should help cool it down. This approach, known as solar radiation modification (SRM), should be much cheaper and more cost-effective than our other current alternatives. Together with reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, an SRM-type program could help mitigate or even counter the warming trend that started in the Industrial Revolution.
April 6, 2021
5 min read
Without a major slowing of global warming, humans and nature will face increasingly dire consequences. Nine of the hottest years in human history have occurred in the past decade as documented on Climate.gov. Without a major shift in this climate trajectory, the future of life on Earth is in question, which poses a new question: should humans, whose fossil-fueled society is driving climate change, use technology to put the brakes on global warming? Stratospheric aerosol intervention (SAI) is a deliberate climate intervention that has been studied as a way to help cool the Earth as fossil fuel emissions are reduced. But what would be the consequences to natural systems if SAI was used?
How Would Geoengineering Impact Nature? SBU ecologist and colleagues tackle the question | stonybrook.edu - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stonybrook.edu Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.