Solar Geoengineering in Wrong Hands Could Wreak Climate Havoc, Scientists Warn
- Reference: 0179975074
- News link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/11/05/1817220/solar-geoengineering-in-wrong-hands-could-wreak-climate-havoc-scientists-warn
- Source link:
> However, if technology to block the sun was used globally and in a coordinated way for a long period -- decades or even centuries -- there is strong evidence that it would lower the global temperature, the review from the UK's Royal Society concluded.
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> The world is failing to halt the climate crisis and the researchers said that in future, a judgment might need to be made [1]between the risks of geoengineering and the those of continued global heating , which is already costing lives and livelihoods. The logistics of a large-scale geoengineering effort would be daunting, the experts said, but the cost would be small relative to climate action -- billions of dollars a year against trillions.
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> The researchers emphasised that geoengineering only masked the symptoms of the climate crisis, and did not tackle the root cause -- the burning of fossil fuels. Geoengineering could only complement the cutting of emissions, not replace it, they said. If geoengineering was halted abruptly but emissions had not been reduced, there would be a termination shock of rapidly rising temperatures -- 1-2C within a couple of decades -- that would have severe effects on people and ecosystems unable to rapidly adapt.
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/05/solar-geoengineering-in-wrong-hands-could-wreak-climate-havoc-scientists-warn
Royal Society ilk s the Real Threat (Score:2)
> However, if technology to block the sun was used globally and in a coordinated way for a long period -- decades or even centuries -- there is strong evidence that it would lower the global temperature, the review from the UK's Royal Society concluded.
God save us from smart people who don't know their own limits. These folks, not "rogue actors", are the real threat. They talk about globally coordinating something over centuries as if that is a realistic idea just because they can imagine it.
Re:Royal Society ilk s the Real Threat (Score:4, Insightful)
I do not see that this makes them a "threat". It makes them scientists: They state projections with border conditions. Nothing wrong with that. That these border conditions are exceptionally unlikely to happen with this really crappy installment of the human race is a different problem.
Re: (Score:2)
To pick a nit - Is it a different problem? If your theory rests on how humans behave, how people actually behave isn't just a border condition, it's a fundamental constraint. Akin to, "It'll work, we'd just need entropy to reverse itself."
Re: (Score:3)
I suspect that The Guardian left out the bit where they also said, "but all plants would die, and then so would we, so it's not a great idea."
I mean, I could have told them it would lower temperatures. Had I been born yesterday I could have told them that, as I would have experienced nighttime. Though I probably wouldn't yet know that ultimately all food comes from sunlight.
It would probably be safer and easier to just not store so much of the sun's heat. Reflective pavement would probably help a lot
Re: (Score:1)
There's been literally dozens if not hundreds of official reports of [people complaining about being raped by aliens], including my own, and thus far humanity as a whole has done fuck-all about it other than call us all crazy. Your assertion seems quite flawed, though I commend your faith in your fellow species.
Scientists, huh? (Score:1)
Don't get me wrong, I have great respect for science and those that actively participate in working in the sciences. But, if we need scientists to state something this obvious before we pay attention? Uh, well, this doesn't deserve a diatribe. It deserves a heartfelt Generation X staple saying. "No Doy."
"globally and in a coordinated way" (Score:3)
Good luck with that. We cannot even agree not to do wars that are essentially just stealing from others.
Re:"globally and in a coordinated way" (Score:4, Funny)
> Good luck with that. We cannot even agree not to do wars that are essentially just stealing from others.
That's not true! I agree with 100% of the people who agree 100% with what I already believe. It's the other people that are the problem!
Re: (Score:3)
We cannot even agree not to do wars that are essentially just stealing from others.
Nonsense. My people lived on that land centuries ago even though others were already there so it's my land by default. It's not stealing. I'm just taking back what is mine.
Re: (Score:1)
> Good luck with that.
Are you a time traveler from the 90's or just a really stupid and desperate pro-establishment lie-teller?
ANY geoengineering (Score:2)
...has risk. An international election system should be set up whereby each nation gets votes proportional to their population, perhaps with a slight bonus to help smallbie's, similar to US's Electoral College.
And if its impact leans regional, then countries close to the region also get a vote bonus.
I have a feeling we're going to need this system; prevention and restraint ain't goin' so well.
Re: (Score:2)
> ...has risk. An international election system should be set up whereby each nation gets votes proportional to their population, perhaps with a slight bonus to help smallbie's, similar to US's Electoral College.
Yes, by all means, let's take our biggest mistake and make it a global problem.
> And if its impact leans regional, then countries close to the region also get a vote bonus.
> I have a feeling we're going to need this system; prevention and restraint ain't goin' so well.
Prepare yourself for a lecture on the dangers of worldwide governments. As that's what it would take to make this work, and we can't even seem to manage individual country governments correctly for the length of time that would be required to even think about implementing a global engineering project of this sort of scale.
Re: ANY geoengineering (Score:2)
Well, since this is going to cost money, it wont happen. Period.
We could mitigate climate change in a dozen ways that currently *make* money for certain billionaires, by just cutting back. Example coal fired plants. Mining cryptocoins. Use less "AI".
Literally no one is doing that, not sam altman, not me or you.
And my excuse is the same as everyman. I don't make a difference. I can't make a difference. Who gives a fudge if I use less water when I brush my teeth?
Supposedly, every bit counts, but if I save a
To the surprise of who now? (Score:2)
Nobody, right? I mean, you'd have to be a blind idiot with the memory of a goldfish not to work that one out.
Oh, this is from The Guardian? Well. That makes sense then.
Geeze, what a coincidence (Score:3)
Elon just made a pertinent statement:
[1]https://futurism.com/future-so... [futurism.com]
[1] https://futurism.com/future-society/elon-musk-control-climate-satellites
Re: (Score:2)
The most effective way is to throttle the sun somewhere between earth and the sun. The problem is politics. A centralized blocking means that it has to time multiplex based on the requirement of each time zone. Then again, air space doesn't extend into space so the richest country wins.
Mr Burns (Score:2)
Is that you?
And doing nothing? (Score:2)
Doing nothing won't also wreak havoc?
Words (Score:2)
> The researchers emphasised that geoengineering only masked the symptoms of the climate crisis, and did not tackle the root cause -- the burning of fossil fuels.
I think the word you are looking for is "mitigate", not "mask".
There are all sorts of things that we do that require other things done to make them safe enough.
Cognitive dissonance (Score:2)
One of my state's Republican senators is all-in on chemtrails and "Solar Radiation Modification" lunacy. It's curious how these are the same people who think humanity isn't capable of affecting the climate by burning fossil fuels and pumping tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Solar Geoengineering? (Score:2)
Sounds like a great idea!
With the best of intentions!
What could possibly go wrong?
Like on Alpha Centauri (Score:2)
The game, you could launch solar shades and lower the energy of your opponents. That game was one of the best Sci Fi games ever made.
Snowpiercer (Score:2)
Now just shut up and eat your cricket paste!
And also... (Score:2)
The Matrix
The Colony
Aeon Flux
Highlander 2