Mexico cracks down on solar geoengineering
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Re: Mexico cracks down on solar geoengineering
#2[flagged]
Re: Mexico cracks down on solar geoengineering
#3> The opposition to these climatic manipulations is based on the fact that there are currently no international agreements that address or supervise solar geoengineering activities, which represent an economically advantageous way out for a minority and risky for the supposed remediation of climate change.
> We agree that there are no alternative technologies that replace the need to reduce emissions to remediate climate change.
Smells like dogma. Anyone know what’s going on?
Re: Mexico cracks down on solar geoengineering
#4> Make Sunsets was planning to launch three latex weather balloons that would release anywhere between 10 and 500 grams of sulfur dioxide […]
Is that enough for any observable effect?
Re: Mexico cracks down on solar geoengineering
#5> The tiny startup Make Sunsets, which had been experimenting with releasing sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight in order to cool the earth.
This is the mechanism in Neal Stephenson’s _Termination Shock_. The book’s plot depends on a future US government which is non-functional, thus no one can shut them down.
These folks were planning to release 500g of sulfur dioxide — that’s completely insignificant, right? Just a POC?
(I wouldn’t recommend the book. Even compared with his later work it’s unfocused and dull.)
Re: Mexico cracks down on solar geoengineering
#6[flagged]
[dead]
Re: Mexico cracks down on solar geoengineering
#7> The tiny startup Make Sunsets, which had been experimenting with releasing sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight in order to cool the earth. This is the mechanism in Neal Stephenson’s _Termination Shock_. The book’s plot depends on a future US government which is non-functional, thus no one can shut them down. These folks were planning to release 500g of sulfur dioxide — that’s completely insignifi…
Here's a reference point:
- "Mount Pinatubo’s violent eruption [in 1991] injected about 15 million tons of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere. The resulting sulfuric acid aerosols remained in the stratosphere for about two years, and cooled the Earth’s surface by a range of 1 to 2 degrees Fahrenheit."
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2019/2018-s-biggest-vol...
Looks like they're about 10.5 orders of magnitude short (of globally significant effects).
Re: Mexico cracks down on solar geoengineering
#8> The tiny startup Make Sunsets, which had been experimenting with releasing sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight in order to cool the earth. This is the mechanism in Neal Stephenson’s _Termination Shock_. The book’s plot depends on a future US government which is non-functional, thus no one can shut them down. These folks were planning to release 500g of sulfur dioxide — that’s completely insignifi…
> These folks were planning to release 500g of sulfur dioxide — that’s completely insignificant, right? Just a POC?
Yes, that is a practically undetectable addition of SO2.
For reference, the US emitted approximately 2M tons of SO2 in 2019; that's about 1.8 billion kg. The 500g here is approximately one part in one billion.
If the startup added 500g of SO2 every single day for the next 10,000 years, they would add 1% to the total SO2 emissions of just 2019.
Re: Mexico cracks down on solar geoengineering
#9> The tiny startup Make Sunsets, which had been experimenting with releasing sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight in order to cool the earth. This is the mechanism in Neal Stephenson’s _Termination Shock_. The book’s plot depends on a future US government which is non-functional, thus no one can shut them down. These folks were planning to release 500g of sulfur dioxide — that’s completely insignifi…
> I wouldn’t recommend the book. Even compared with his later work it’s unfocused and dull
Disagree. I do recommend it.
Just don’t expect a Snow Crash or Diamond Age. Everything in the book uses contemporary technology.
Re: Mexico cracks down on solar geoengineering
#10> The tiny startup Make Sunsets, which had been experimenting with releasing sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight in order to cool the earth. This is the mechanism in Neal Stephenson’s _Termination Shock_. The book’s plot depends on a future US government which is non-functional, thus no one can shut them down. These folks were planning to release 500g of sulfur dioxide — that’s completely insignifi…
> These folks were planning to release 500g of sulfur dioxide — that’s completely insignificant, right? Just a POC? Yes, that is a practically undetectable addition of SO2. For reference, the US emitted approximately 2M tons of SO2 in 2019; that's about 1.8 billion kg. The 500g here is approximately one part in one billion. If the startup added 500g of SO2 every single day for the next 10,000 years, they would add 1%…
Keep in mind that ordinary SO₂ pollution doesn't make its way into the stratosphere. It's a different problem.