In my last article, I discussed about how scientists are diving into the quest to fix our climate. But as promising as it seems, there are many issues with the methods that keep it from gaining traction. The phenomenon of ambient aerosols lowering temperatures is not new.
Picture this: in Northern India, particularly in the bustling capital of New Delhi, winter rolls in and the air quality plummets so dramatically that life comes to a standstill. Schools are shuttered, and construction activities are severely curtailed or even halted. This dense smog is caused due to farmers clearing their fields with crop burning to make way for the spring harvest. In ordinary parlance, this technique is known as stubble burning. This combustion process results in the emission of a considerable quantity of aerosols into the open air. And just like that, it gives winter in New Delhi and its neighbors a little chillier twist, making an already frosty season feel even frostier! Not only does it take a toll on air quality, but it also brings along a dreadful combination of scratchy throats, burning eyes, and breathing woes.
And this then underlines some of the challenges with solar geoengineering. Assuming we release aerosols to cool temperature, what happens if the aerosols' cooling effect is too strong or long-lasting? If they remain in the atmosphere for longer periods, the summers may feel cooler but will the winters be harsher? Will it cause arctic winters?
What could happen if those methods accidentally let loose some aerosols that just happen to absorb light instead of reflecting light? This could spike up the global temperatures even more! And, how will these artificially injected aerosols break down in the atmosphere? Would they be able to keep their original beneficial properties? Or will it stir up pollution potentially leading to respiratory issues as in the case of New Delhi?
Climate fixing also raises several conundrums. Nations globally have been on a carbon-cutting crusade for years, trying out methods like carbon capture to reduce emissions. The release of carbon dioxide is the primary contributor to the phenomenon of global warming. But once we figure out how to “tweak” the temperatures, will it put the brakes on these efforts? If we figure out how to “fix” and “control” the climate, will anyone still care about tackling the real culprit behind global warming, like cutting down on the root cause i.e. the greenhouse gas emissions? By not addressing underlying cause of global warming, we can end up making our planet even more vulnerable to climate change.
Clearly, it will take many hours of "controlled" experimentation on vast, uninhabited tracts of land to find answers to all of these problems. Often, these lands belong to the indigenous people - raising another ethical dilemma.
There is undoubtedly more to climate fixing; it cannot be disregarded, but it is also not a surefire way to address our current climate problems. To dive deeper into this, we’ve got to explore every nook and cranny, which is precisely what that new climate emulator developed by Andrew Ng is all about. Let the simulations begin!
References:
Sophiya Mathew. (2024, November 15). Air pollution: Junior schools shut, construction halted as GRAP III invoked in Delhi-NCR. Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/schools-junior-students-construction-demolition-grap-iii-invoked-delhi-ncr-9669911/
Ankan Sarkar, Jagabandhu Panda , Sunny Kant , Asmita Mukherjee. (2022, November 1). Influence of smoke aerosols on low-level clouds over the Indian region during winter. Science Direct. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0169809522003441
Temple, J. (2024, August 23). Andrew Ng’s new model lets you play around with solar geoengineering to see what would happen. MIT Technology Review. https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/08/23/1097292/andrew-ngs-new-model-lets-you-play-around-with-solar-geoengineering-to-see-what-would-happen/
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