At some point in the next several years, as climate and environmental crises continue to worsen, it’s nearly certain that our capitalist rulers will look at all the problems caused by technology and industry — and then attempt to fix them with even *more* technology and industry, specifically with geoengineering.🤦♂️
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As nearly every climate indicator grows increasingly dire, calls for extreme technological fixes get louder. However, study after study finds that taking a gamble on forced geoengineering comes with its own dangerous risks.
New research warns that if we inject sulfate particles into the atmosphere to attempt to reflect sunlight and mimic the cooling effects of volcanic eruptions and they don't end up in the right position, they could cause further warming and even worse climate anomalies than burning greenhouse gases as usual.
"We found that some detrimental effects of this injection are of a similar magnitude to those from climate change itself in some regions," ETH Zürich atmospheric scientist Elia Wunderlin and colleagues write in their paper.
Their findings add to a growing list of research highlighting the risks of forced geoengineering, which include losing more of the ozone layer, changing global rain patterns, and further disruptions to ecological systems.
Alternatively, one type of geoengineering poses far less risk and guarantees benefits. Restoring native ecosystems has massive potential to help stabilize our climate without introducing such extreme risks and unknowns.
However, despite being a much surer and safer bet, this option doesn't appear to attract nearly as much attention, fanfare, or funding.
Regardless of future strategies, transitioning away from fossil fuels is essential to addressing our climate situation. Meanwhile, usage continues to rise, and corporations receiving public funding are making record profits.
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FULL STORY -- https://www.sciencealert.com/injecting-sulfur-into-the-atmosphere-could-pose-dangerous-risks
#Science #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis