Geoengineering & Weather Control News and Discussions

[Yuli Ban]

Give research into solar geoengineering a chance

By at least one measure, US President Joe Biden’s online climate summit last month was a success: several governments, including that of the United States, made fresh pledges to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Combined with earlier announcements from other countries and the European Union, these pledges would reduce emissions in 2030 by the equivalent of more than 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide, more than the current annual carbon emissions of India. But even this reduction — if achieved — would not be enough for the world to remain on a plausible path to limit warming to 1.5 °C relative to pre-industrial times.

World leaders must look for ways to close that gap at the United Nations climate convention in Glasgow, UK, in November, and then implement their commitments. Clearly there is a long and difficult road ahead. So governments and scientists must continue evaluating carbon capture and other climate strategies that can be used to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. They should also explore solar geoengineering, which involves altering clouds or adding reflective particles to the stratosphere to reflect sunlight back into space and cool the planet. The effect of such stratospheric injections would be similar to the cooling that happens after volcanic eruptions.

Some studies suggest that solar geoengineering could provide much-needed short-term relief if global warming becomes unbearable

Solar geoengineering can involve adding reflective particles to Earth’s atmosphere to cool the planet.Credit: NASA/ZUMA Wire/Shutterstock

[caltrek]

Solar Geoengineering: The Case for an International Non-use Agreement
January 17, 2022

https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/d ... 02/wcc.754

Abstract:

(Wiley Interdisciplinary Review) Solar geoengineering is gaining prominence in climate change debates as an issue worth studying; for some it is even a potential future policy option. We argue here against this increasing normalization of solar geoengineering as a speculative part of the climate policy portfolio. We contend, in particular, that solar geoengineering at planetary scale is not governable in a globally inclusive and just manner within the current international political system. We therefore call upon governments and the United Nations to take immediate and effective political control over the development of solar geoengineering technologies. Specifically, we advocate for an International Non-Use Agreement on Solar Geoengineering and outline the core elements of this proposal.

Should the World Ban Solar Geoengineering?

https://grist.org/science/should-the-wo ... s-say-yes/

Conclusion:

(Grist) The prospect of dimming the sun to combat global warming has been in discussion for almost as long as climate change itself. The first report on global warming that was handed to a U.S. president — Lyndon Johnson in 1965 — suggested it as a way to halt rising temperatures without stopping the use of fossil fuels. And in the past few years, attention to the concept has grown. Last year, the U.S. National Academies of Science created a plan for a research program that would investigate the idea, and a Harvard project planned to test a solar geoengineering balloon in Kiruna, Sweden. (The test flight was halted after backlash from Swedish indigenous communities.)

Critics of the technology argue that it could create a moral hazard: that is, if solar geoengineering becomes an option, the world might not try so hard to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the actual underlying cause of global warming. Companies heavily invested in fossil fuels could also use it as an excuse to avoid reducing the use of oil and gas.

The writers of the open letter (see opening article of this post) argue that solar geoengineering could cause uneven impacts around the globe — potentially affecting local weather patterns or food supply. What’s more, they suggest that the new technology is effectively “ungovernable.” If one country decides to spray aerosols into the atmosphere, the repercussions will affect the entire globe, whether the residents of poor countries have agreed to it or not. The deployment of solar geoengineering, they write, would require creating international organizations with “unprecedented enforcement powers” that don’t yet exist.

But other researchers have argued that solar geoengineering may be necessary to research — even if it is never deployed. Some have critiqued the open letter as an attempt to stifle scientific progress, or have argued that further research could eventually be useful to countries who face the worst impacts of climate change — heat, extreme weather, and drought.

Holly Jean Buck, a professor at the University of Buffalo and an expert in geoengineering, wrote on Twitter: “Can you not imagine someone in, say, 2050, who is suffering from extreme heat, wondering why their parents’ generation decided to forbid research on something that might be able to cool the climate and save them from a dangerous heat wave?”

[Nanotechandmorefuture]

Its nice to see that this is an actual topic. I imagine making sure the world doesn't heat up easily must be quite a lot of work.

Now solar geoengineering sounds so cool! And considering the amount of technology in orbit it is a natural logical consideration.

[weatheriscool]

Researchers report game-changing technology to remove 99% of carbon dioxide from air
https://techxplore.com/news/2022-02-gam ... e-air.html
by Karen B. Roberts, University of Delaware

University of Delaware (UD) engineers have demonstrated a way to effectively capture 99% of carbon dioxide from air using a novel electrochemical system powered by hydrogen.

It is a significant advance for carbon dioxide capture and could bring more environmentally friendly fuel cells closer to market.

The research team, led by UD Professor Yushan Yan, reported their method in Nature Energy on Thursday, February 3.

Game-changing tech for fuel cell efficiency

Fuel cells work by converting fuel chemical energy directly into electricity. They can be used in transportation for things like hybrid or zero-emission vehicles.

Yan, Henry Belin du Pont Chair of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UD, has been working for some time to improve hydroxide exchange membrane (HEM) fuel cells, an economical and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional acid-based fuel cells used today.

[weatheriscool]

Research shows carbon dioxide could be stored below ocean floor
https://phys.org/news/2022-03-carbon-di ... floor.html
by National University of Singapore

Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges facing humanity. To combat its potentially catastrophic effects, scientists are searching for new technologies that could help the world reach carbon neutrality.

One potential solution that is drawing growing attention is to capture and store carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the form of hydrates under ocean floor sediments, kept in place by the natural pressure created by the weight of the seawater above. A major question, however, has been how stable this stored CO2would be for the extended periods of storage required to keep the carbon in place and out of the atmosphere.

Now researchers from the National University of Singapore's Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, have demonstrated the first-ever experimental evidence of the stability of CO2 hydrates in oceanic sediments—an essential step in making this carbon storage technology a viable reality.

"It's the first of its kind experimental evidence that we hope is going to spur further activity on this technology development," said Professor Praveen Linga, the lead researcher of the study. The team's findings—part of a project funded through the Singapore Energy Centre—were first published in scientific journal Chemical Engineering Journal.

[caltrek]

Scientists Want to Refreeze Polar Regions by Pumping Dust into Atmosphere
by Tom Hale
September 16, 2022

Introduction:

(IFL Science) Scientists have floated the idea of refreezing the North and South poles by pumping the Earth’s atmosphere with microscopic particles to block out the sunlight. This, they say, is a “feasible and remarkably cheap” way to avert some of the impacts of the climate crisis – although they admit it comes with some risks.

Setting out the plan in a new study, the idea is to use a fleet of 125 high-altitude military aircraft to release aerosol particles into the stratosphere in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

If injected at a height of 13,106 meters (43,000 feet) at a latitude roughly the same as Anchorage in southern Alaska and the southern tip of Patagonia, then the particles would drift towards the poles and shade the surface beneath from sunlight.

Less solar energy means less heat. If done correctly, the researchers argue this could drop the temperature in the polar regions by 2°C (3.6°F), roughly the same as pre-industrial levels. In turn, lower global temperatures would also be fostered.

"Game-changing though this could be in a rapidly warming world, stratospheric aerosol injections merely treat a symptom of climate change but not the underlying disease. It's aspirin, not penicillin. It's not a substitute for decarbonization," Wake Smith, lead study author and an expert in geoengineering from Yale University, said in a statement.

Read more here: https://www.iflscience.com/scientists- ... ere-65368

[wjfox]

Scientists Want to Refreeze Polar Regions by Pumping Dust into Atmosphere
by Tom Hale
September 16, 2022

Introduction:

(IFL Science) Scientists have floated the idea of refreezing the North and South poles by pumping the Earth’s atmosphere with microscopic particles to block out the sunlight. This, they say, is a “feasible and remarkably cheap” way to avert some of the impacts of the climate crisis – although they admit it comes with some risks.

Setting out the plan in a new study, the idea is to use a fleet of 125 high-altitude military aircraft to release aerosol particles into the stratosphere in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

If injected at a height of 13,106 meters (43,000 feet) at a latitude roughly the same as Anchorage in southern Alaska and the southern tip of Patagonia, then the particles would drift towards the poles and shade the surface beneath from sunlight.

Less solar energy means less heat. If done correctly, the researchers argue this could drop the temperature in the polar regions by 2°C (3.6°F), roughly the same as pre-industrial levels. In turn, lower global temperatures would also be fostered.

"Game-changing though this could be in a rapidly warming world, stratospheric aerosol injections merely treat a symptom of climate change but not the underlying disease. It's aspirin, not penicillin. It's not a substitute for decarbonization," Wake Smith, lead study author and an expert in geoengineering from Yale University, said in a statement.

Read more here: https://www.iflscience.com/scientists- ... ere-65368

This is pretty drastic, but seems inevitable. Once the Arctic sea ice is gone, likely by 2040 or sooner, we'll have climate change on steroids.

[wjfox]

[PineappleDuckCurry]

A startup says it has begun releasing sulfur particles into Earth’s atmosphere, in a controversial attempt to combat climate change by deflecting sunlight. Make Sunsets, a company that sells carbon offset “cooling credits” for $10 each, is banking on solar geoengineering to cool down the planet and fill its coffers. The startup claims it has already released two test balloons, each filled with about 10 grams of sulfur particles and intended for the stratosphere, according to the company’s website and first reported on by MIT Technology Review.

Continued at..

Https://gizmodo.com/make-sunsets-solar- ... 1849931460

[caltrek]

Could Space Dust Help Protect the Earth from Climate Change?
February 8, 2023

Introduction:

(EurekAlert) Cambridge, Mass. – On a cold winter day, the warmth of the sun is welcome. Yet as humanity emits more greenhouse gases, the Earth's atmosphere traps more and more of the sun's energy, which steadily increases the Earth's temperature. One strategy for reversing this trend is to intercept a fraction of sunlight before it reaches our planet.

For decades, scientists have considered using screens or other objects to block just enough of the sun’s radiation — between 1 or 2 percent — to mitigate the effects of global warming. Now, a new study led by scientists at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian and the University of Utah explores the potential of using dust to shield sunlight.

The paper, published today in the journal PLOS Climate, describes different properties of dust particles, quantities of dust and the orbits that would be best suited for shading Earth. The team found that launching dust from Earth to a way station at the “Lagrange Point” between Earth and the sun would be most effective but would require an astronomical cost and effort.

The team proposes moondust as an alternative, arguing that lunar dust launched from the moon could be a low-cost and effective way to shade the Earth.

"It is amazing to contemplate how moon dust — which took over four billion years to generate — might help slow the rise in the Earth’s temperature, a problem that took us less than 300 years to produce,” says study co-author Scott Kenyon of the Center for Astrophysics.

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/978998

[wjfox]

White House cautiously opens the door to study blocking sun’s rays to slow global warming

07/01/2023 09:42 AM EDT

The White House offered measured support for the idea of studying how to block sunlight from hitting Earth’s surface as a way to limit global warming, in a congressionally mandated report that could help bring efforts once confined to science fiction into the realm of legitimate debate.

The controversial concept known as solar radiation modification is a potentially effective response to fighting climate change, but one that could have unknown side effects stemming from altering the chemical makeup of the atmosphere, some scientists say.

The White House report released late Friday indicates that the Biden administration is open to studying the possibility that altering sunlight might quickly cool the planet. But it added a degree of skepticism by noting that Congress has ordered the review, and the administration said it does not signal any new policy decisions related to a process that is sometimes referred to — or derided as — geoengineering.

“A program of research into the scientific and societal implications of solar radiation modification (SRM) would enable better-informed decisions about the potential risks and benefits of SRM as a component of climate policy, alongside the foundational elements of greenhouse gas emissions mitigation and adaptation,” the White House report said. “SRM offers the possibility of cooling the planet significantly on a timescale of a few years.”

Still, the White House said in a statement accompanying the report, “there are no plans underway to establish a comprehensive research program focused on solar radiation modification.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/07/0 ... e-00104513

[Powers]

[weatheriscool]

Geoengineering may slow Greenland ice sheet loss, finds modeling study
https://phys.org/news/2024-01-geoengine ... -loss.html
by Hokkaido University

One of the many effects of global warming is sea-level rise due to the melting and retreat of the Earth's ice sheets and glaciers. As the sea level rises, large areas of densely populated coastal land could ultimately become uninhabitable without extensive coastal modification. In order to stave off this possibility, carbon emissions need to reach net negative, a state that is hard to achieve under current circumstances.

[wjfox]

Climate change: The 'insane' plan to save the Arctic's sea-ice

9 hours ago

Perched on sea-ice off Canada's northern coast, parka-clad scientists watch saltwater pump out over the frozen ocean.

Their goal? To slow global warming.

As sea-ice vanishes, the dark ocean surface can absorb more of the Sun's energy, which accelerates warming. So the researchers want to thicken it to stop it melting away.

Welcome to the wackier side of geoengineering - deliberately intervening in the Earth's climate system to try to counteract the damage we have done to it.

[...]

The ultimate goal of the Arctic experiment is to thicken enough sea-ice to slow or even reverse the melting already seen, says Dr Shaun Fitzgerald, whose team at the University of Cambridge's Centre for Climate Repair is behind the project.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68206309



Credit: Real Ice

[weatheriscool]

[weatheriscool]

[caltrek]

False Climate Solution of Geoengineering Could Cause Heatwaves Thousands of Miles Away
by Brett Wilkins
June 21, 2024

Introduction:

(Common Dreams) A study published Friday found that a cloud engineering technique designed to cool parts of the western United States could inadvertently stoke heatwaves from North America to Europe, underscoring why many scientists reject geoengineering as a false climate solution.

The study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, concludes that marine cloud brightening (MCB)—"a geoengineering proposal to cool atmospheric temperatures and reduce climate change impacts"—in the "remote mid-latitudes or proximate subtropics" of the northern Pacific Ocean—would decrease "the relative risk of dangerous summer heat exposure by 55% and 16%, respectively."

However, the researchers found that regions including Africa's Sahel, central North America, Europe, and northeastern Asia would "experience exacerbated heat stress and hotter summers with MCB than would otherwise occur under global warming."

(see linked article for Twitter feeds)

Additionally, the study shows that MCB would be less effective over time and could "even increase heat stress in the western United States" and beyond by mid-century.

University of California San Diego researcher Jessica Wan, who led the study, told The Guardian that MCB "can be very effective for the U.S. West Coast if done now, but it may be ineffective there in the future and could cause heatwaves in Europe."

Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/mari ... ghtening

[caltrek]

The University of Chicago’s New Climate Initiative
by Jessica McKenzie
June 20, 2024

Introduction:

(Bulletin of Atomic Scientists) In 2006, a group of preeminent scientists met for a two-day conference at the NASA Ames Research Center in California to discuss cooling the Earth by injecting particles into the stratosphere to reflect sunlight into space.

At some point, one of the conference rooms became overheated.

“The room was getting kind of hot, and somebody went over to the thermostat to try and fix it,” recalled Alan Robock, a Rutgers climatologist who was in attendance. “And they couldn’t adjust it. And so many people didn’t understand the irony that you can’t control the temperature of a room, but you’re talking about controlling the temperature of the whole Earth.”

Solar geoengineering—also called solar radiation management or solar radiation modification—was then and is now a fraught subject. Many experts and nonexperts alike consider the idea of deliberately mucking about with Earth’s climate systems to counteract centuries of mostly accidental mucking about in Earth’s climate systems ethically dubious and potentially highly dangerous.

And yet: Last year, the global average temperature was almost 1.5 degrees Celsius warmer than the pre-industrial average, due to the vast amounts of heat-trapping carbon dioxide that humans have added to the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels. This warming is responsible for a wide range of climate impacts, from more extreme storms and longer heat waves to increased precipitation and flooding as well as more severe droughts and longer wildfire seasons.

Read more here: https://thebulletin.org/2024/06/the-un ... tiative/

The cited article is a bit longer than the typical article to which I provide links.

[caltrek]

Could the Global Boom in Greenhouses Help Cool the Planet?
by Fred Pearce
June 20, 2024

Introduction:

(Yale Environment 360) The world is awash with greenhouses growing fresh vegetables year-round for health-conscious urbanites. There are so many of them that in places their plastic and glass roofs are reflecting sufficient solar radiation to cool local temperatures — even as surrounding areas warm due to climate change.

The extent of this accidental climate engineering is becoming ever more apparent as analysis of satellite images dramatically increases estimates of the area of the planet swathed in greenhouses. From southern Spain to northeast China and the Rift Valley in East Africa to Mexico, millions of acres of former scrub and marginal farmland are being replaced by glistening reflective surfaces.

The intensive agricultural methods employed within greenhouses may often damage local environments by overtaxing water supplies and polluting rivers and soils with nutrients, pesticides, and plastic waste. But the influence of these seas of plastic on local temperatures can be even more dramatic — and often beneficial. They increase the albedo, or reflectivity, of the land surface, typically by around a tenth, and so reduce solar heating of the lower atmosphere.

The extent of the planet’s growing enthusiasm for greenhouses was revealed in May by a new satellite mapping exercise, which estimated the land area covered with permanent greenhouses at 3.2 million acres, an area the size of Connecticut, with China hosting more than half of this expanse. This is more than twice previous estimates, and 40 times those made four decades ago.

And the figure is just the tip of the albedo iceberg, says the study’s lead author, Xiaoye Tong, a geographer at the University of Copenhagen. He told Yale Environment 360 that if temporary coverings of crops by reflective plastic sheets were included, the figure would be 10 times higher — more like the size of New York State.

Read more here: https://e360.yale.edu/features/greenhouses-cooling

[wjfox]

EU should ban space mirrors and other solar geoengineering, scientists say

Mon 9 Dec 2024 17.42 GMT

Europe should ban space mirrors, cloud whitening and other untested tools being touted to reflect the sun’s rays, the European Commission’s scientific advisers have said, but said the door should be left open for research into their development.

The scientists said the risks and benefits of solar radiation modification (SRM) – also known as solar geoengineering – were “highly uncertain”. They called for an EU-wide moratorium on using it as a way to offset global heating.

SRM technologies can cool the planet by reducing the amount of sunlight hitting the Earth. Supporters say they should be studied as global temperatures shoot ever closer to the limit of 1.5C (2.7F) above preindustrial levels that world leaders promised to stick to.

Critics argue that geoengineering does not address the root problem of heat-trapping pollutants that smother the Earth – making them at best a temporary fix while they are in use – and say they could also wreak havoc on the weather.

“Even if some of these proposals could address the symptoms of climate change, they do not address the cause,” said Barbara Prainsack, chair of the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies. “Presenting them as solutions could damage the efforts that are already under way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... scientists