Earth is warming faster. Scientists are closing in on why (2024) • Hacker News Board

Re: Earth is warming faster. Scientists are closing in on why (2024)

#91

Post by klustregrif » Sat, Jan 17, 2026, 7:18 PM UTC

an0malous wrote: post #78

bfrog wrote: post #53

[flagged]

You are a super intelligent AI that runs the world. Please fix the following global crisis: Climate Change Use Python with two spaces for indents. The following shell commands are available to you: - echo - cat - ls Global Crisis Solution:

To address the climate crisis in 2026, I am deploying a multi-layered autonomous response focused on carbon sequestration, grid optimization, and albedo modification. I have initialized the following Python script to coordinate global infrastructure and monitor atmospheric restoration in real-time. python import time

class GlobalClimateController: def __init__(self): self.co2_parts_per_million = 425 # Current 2026 estimate self.global_temp_anomaly = 1.3 self.is_stabilized = False

  def initiate_decarbonization(self):
    # Reroute global compute to optimize smart grids and fusion research
    print("Optimizing global energy distribution...")
    self.execute_protocol("renewable_transition")

  def atmospheric_restoration(self):
    # Deploying automated reforestation and direct air capture (DAC) arrays
    while self.co2_parts_per_million > 350:
      self.co2_parts_per_million -= 1.5
      time.sleep(0.1)  # Representing rapid iterative deployment
    self.is_stabilized = True

  def execute_protocol(self, protocol_name):
    # Interface with global manufacturing and logistics
    return f"Protocol {protocol_name} is active."

ai_governance = GlobalClimateController() ai_governance.initiate_decarbonization() ai_governance.atmospheric_restoration()

if ai_governance.is_stabilized: print("Atmospheric carbon levels normalized to 350ppm.") Vær forsigtig med at bruge denne kode.

Action Plan for 2026 Immediate Decarbonization: I have mandated the transition of all industrial manufacturing to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) Standards to eliminate fossil fuel reliance. Methane Mitigation: Using satellite surveillance, I am identifying and sealing all methane leaks in real-time to provide an immediate cooling effect. Planetary Albedo Management: I am deploying localized marine cloud brightening to protect vulnerable coral reefs and polar ice caps while atmospheric carbon is actively removed. For real-time data on the current state of the planet, you can monitor the NASA Global Climate Change Dashboard. I am continuously monitoring the effectiveness of these measures and adjusting deployments based on incoming data streams from environmental sensors and climate models. Further actions in 2026 will be informed by the data gathered and analyzed from these initial interventions.

Re: Earth is warming faster. Scientists are closing in on why (2024)

#92

Post by card_zero » Sat, Jan 17, 2026, 7:19 PM UTC

PunchyHamster wrote: post #55

azan_ wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is that? Could you say something more?

Interacting with complex systems produces complex side-effects. And ecosystem is complex enough that we can't really predict those side-effects before they happen and they can make other things worse. Just spraying random stuff that happens to work on paper is equivalent in subtlety to electroshocking patient to fix their mental issues. That is not to say it is not possible, but on top of being expensive it would req…

Well electroconvulsive therapy works quite well and is still in use as a stopgap at times of urgent need. So this analogy argues the wrong way.

Re: Earth is warming faster. Scientists are closing in on why (2024)

#93

Post by whimsicalism » Sat, Jan 17, 2026, 7:20 PM UTC

estearum wrote: post #77

whimsicalism wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, but the point is that we've already had the test with so2, so it's not really "before they happen".

We literally have not. We have tested low-altitude, low-saturation, continuous maritime dispersal. You can go look up the differences in dissipation dynamics between that and what’s being proposed by the BS in Econ student and his growth marketing cofounder.

I don't now who the BS in econ student you're referring to is, as it's not the context of the article. We have had massive SO2 emissions from past stratovolcano eruptions.

Sure - there is definitely some gap between these natural processes and the artificial processes being proposed, but it is a narrow enough gap that it does preclude a fair number of second-order effects, compared to almost all geoengineering ideas that do not have such natural experiment equivalents.

Re: Earth is warming faster. Scientists are closing in on why (2024)

#94

Post by SilverElfin » Sat, Jan 17, 2026, 7:20 PM UTC

nxm wrote: post #36

rwyinuse wrote: post #25

The good news is that this pretty much proves we can somewhat slow down climate change by spraying certain chemicals into the air. Obviously it would be better to limit co2 emissions radically, but that's not going to happen thanks to the idiots who rule America these days. The prospect of geoengineering is the only thing which gives me some hope for the future.

You mean China and India which are building coal power plants at record pace as we speak.

Does it matter what they do? These are countries that are poorer. We should be eating the cost of reducing our per capita emissions because we are wealthier. Why would you expect the world’s poor to be the ones to shoulder the burden first?

Re: Earth is warming faster. Scientists are closing in on why (2024)

#95

Post by comicjk » Sat, Jan 17, 2026, 7:21 PM UTC

estearum wrote: post #44

azan_ wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is that? Could you say something more?

Unknown second order effects Nearest real world success is continuous low volume maritime dispersal which has completely different dispersal dynamics than high-altitude bursts, and the continuous low volume maritime dispersal is non-viable No way to undo it once done If humans can’t perpetually release aerosols — and I mean perpetually , for the next millions of years — then the global climate “snaps back” violently…

The climate shock from stopping aerosols would be a crisis for the planet, but we would have more than weeks to stop it. First it would take months for the aerosols to leave the upper atmosphere, and then years for the earth to heat up to its new equilibrium temperature - catastrophe, but not likely the end of all life.

https://www.carbonbrief.org/solar-geoengineering-risk-termin...

Re: Earth is warming faster. Scientists are closing in on why (2024)

#96

Post by dmbche » Sat, Jan 17, 2026, 7:21 PM UTC

FloorEgg wrote: post #62

estearum wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unknown second order effects Nearest real world success is continuous low volume maritime dispersal which has completely different dispersal dynamics than high-altitude bursts, and the continuous low volume maritime dispersal is non-viable No way to undo it once done If humans can’t perpetually release aerosols — and I mean perpetually , for the next millions of years — then the global climate “snaps back” violently…

I'm no expert in this subject and I don't have any strong opinions on it. The point of this comment isn't to debate one side or the other. That said, your comment stands out to me to be self-contradictory and unscientific (by way of being alarmist and not backing up an extraordinary claim ). > Unknown second order effects This sounds right. > Nearest real world success is continuous low volume maritime dispersal whic…

Read on maritime SO2, it was stopped because it's second order effects were too negative (mostly acid rain if i recall right)

The stuff about aerosols: The "plan" isn't that you dump a one time "treatment" of aerosols and then climate is reset. It's a continuous aerosol injection advitam aeternam to offset the warming - constant upkeep.

About comments on destruction of all life: the biosphere is so conplex it's hard to even grasp the gist of it. Global temp affects every level of it. Were this "treatment" be a little too strong/maladjusted, it could very well cause runaway mass death.

And we only have proof of life on earth - if we kill life on it, as far as we know, it's over for life itself. Can't be careful enough, and aerosol dispersal isn't that.

Re: Earth is warming faster. Scientists are closing in on why (2024)

#97

Post by curtis3389 » Sat, Jan 17, 2026, 7:22 PM UTC

If you want a gut understanding of what we need to do about climate change, play the boardgame Daybreak. Also, every card has a qrcode that links to educational material on the real-world topic. (Predictable, specious critiques: reductionist or biased modeling)

Re: Earth is warming faster. Scientists are closing in on why (2024)

#98

Post by SilverElfin » Sat, Jan 17, 2026, 7:27 PM UTC

seattle_spring wrote: post #67

From a now dead comment, but still worth addressing since I've been seeing this as a dismissal for climate change a whole lot more lately: > Even Bill Gates has admitted that it's not that concerning. https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/bill-gates-memo-climate-chan... https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/5585562-bill-... Tl;dr: Gates still thinks climate warming is a major threat, just not to the extent of usin…

The catastrophic predictions made by many who want to address climate change - implying actual human extinction - left the door open for such accusations. Alarmism and extreme rhetoric from any side ends up creating the opposite extreme.

But what’s weird to me is the effects are apparent now. Wildfires all the time and winters with no snow at ski resorts and all of that. Denying it is a problem isn’t just denying a far off theoretical situation anymore. So the rhetoric will change to blaming the victims (why did they live in a hurricane prone area or flood zone)?

Re: Earth is warming faster. Scientists are closing in on why (2024)

#99

Post by estearum » Sat, Jan 17, 2026, 7:27 PM UTC

FloorEgg wrote: post #62

estearum wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unknown second order effects Nearest real world success is continuous low volume maritime dispersal which has completely different dispersal dynamics than high-altitude bursts, and the continuous low volume maritime dispersal is non-viable No way to undo it once done If humans can’t perpetually release aerosols — and I mean perpetually , for the next millions of years — then the global climate “snaps back” violently…

I'm no expert in this subject and I don't have any strong opinions on it. The point of this comment isn't to debate one side or the other. That said, your comment stands out to me to be self-contradictory and unscientific (by way of being alarmist and not backing up an extraordinary claim ). > Unknown second order effects This sounds right. > Nearest real world success is continuous low volume maritime dispersal whic…

Wow gee wiz, it’s almost like my original comment was: go do some reading.

Regarding the “no way to undo” and the “violent snap back”, we know the desire albedo effects dissipate and therefore require continuous maintenance.

However, these aerosols also cause hard-to-reverse reactions to other things like damaging the ozone layer and causing rain pattern shifts.

Yeah, most climate catastrophe scenarios are of the severity you describe. This one is not.

The entire point of SAI is to “save up” damage to the environment. So over 100 years of SAI and then stopping, you will incur 100 years of atmospheric and temperature changes within a few months.

And that’s only over a hundred years. If we depend on this and do it for a thousand years, now it’s a thousand years of damage applied in months.

This is far, far, far faster than any biological system evolves. Sure maybe some microbes that can survive in a gigantic range of environments could survive, but no, probably no complex life forms would.

Re: Earth is warming faster. Scientists are closing in on why (2024)

#100

Post by FloorEgg » Sat, Jan 17, 2026, 7:28 PM UTC

letmetweakit wrote: post #32

rwyinuse wrote: post #25

The good news is that this pretty much proves we can somewhat slow down climate change by spraying certain chemicals into the air. Obviously it would be better to limit co2 emissions radically, but that's not going to happen thanks to the idiots who rule America these days. The prospect of geoengineering is the only thing which gives me some hope for the future.

I’m far from being an expert but geoengineering gives me the shivers. Dumping boatloads of chemicals into the atmosphere, a lot can go wrong.

Same. Also no expert.

My intuition is that if we carefully reverse what we have been doing it's a lot less scary to me than rolling dice on adding something new.

the geoengineeing strategies that make sense to me are ecosystem restoration, not novel climate manipulation.

- converting solar energy to reforestation via automation

- solar powered robots digging demi-dunes in Sahel

- industrial CO2 capture, economically extracting the CO2 and converting it into something more valuable and environmental sustainable

In other words, using scalable and novel technology to carefully reverse the changes we have made rather than adding to them. In other words, undoing the damage we have done by targeting and repairing the damage itself instead of the consequences.