{"id":607783,"date":"2024-02-08T01:05:18","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T22:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/can-solar-geoengineering-save-the-world\/"},"modified":"2024-02-08T01:05:18","modified_gmt":"2024-02-07T22:05:18","slug":"can-solar-geoengineering-save-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-solar-geoengineering-save-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"#Can solar geoengineering save the world?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3584699b6c9\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3584699b6c9\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-solar-geoengineering-save-the-world\/#What_is_solar_geoengineering\" >What is solar geoengineering?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-solar-geoengineering-save-the-world\/#What_are_the_costs_and_benefits_of_solar_geoengineering\" >What are the costs and benefits of solar geoengineering?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-solar-geoengineering-save-the-world\/#Why_is_solar_geoengineering_controversial\" >Why is solar geoengineering controversial?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-solar-geoengineering-save-the-world\/#Whats_next\" >What&#8217;s next?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-solar-geoengineering-save-the-world\/#Final_takeaway\" >Final takeaway<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2024\/solar.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2024\/solar.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Credit: Pixabay\/CC0 Public Domain\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2024\/solar.jpg\" alt=\"solar\" title=\"Credit: Pixabay\/CC0 Public Domain\" width=\"800\" height=\"526\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                Credit: Pixabay\/CC0 Public Domain<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The concept of solar geoengineering\u2014blocking the sun&#8217;s radiation to slow Earth&#8217;s warming\u2014is no longer just the realm of <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a> fiction. In 2023, the U.S. government and the UN released reports on the topic. Whether or not solar geoengineering can save the world is up for debate, and Tony Harding, an assistant professor in the School of Public Policy, is contributing to the conversation.<\/p>\n<p>                                                                                                                                    Harding is an alumnus of the School of Economics and returned to Georgia Tech after a postdoc at Harvard University. He studies the impact of innovative <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> on climate change policy and governance, focusing on solar geoengineering. In the eight years he&#8217;s been researching it, Harding said it&#8217;s the scale of the conversation that&#8217;s changed the most: not what the researchers are speaking about, but who they&#8217;re speaking to.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A lot of people in the climate policy and academic realms were hesitant to talk about solar geoengineering, and I think that&#8217;s starting to change,&#8221; Harding said. &#8220;There&#8217;s definitely wider acceptance of at least talking about it, and in that way, pathways to having spaces to talk about it and research funds are opening up.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>As the idea of solar geoengineering picks up steam, Harding invites everyone to join the conversation, starting with learning about what it is, how it works, and whether or not this once-niche proposition really can save the world.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_solar_geoengineering\"><\/span>What is solar geoengineering?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The most commonly proposed method of solar geoengineering, which also goes by names such as solar radiation modification or climate intervention, uses sulfate aerosols. When injected into the Earth&#8217;s stratosphere, they reflect a small amount of the sun&#8217;s radiation\u2014less than 1%\u2014and reduce Earth&#8217;s surface temperature.<\/p>\n<p>This option is the most popular, and the one Harding studies, because we have natural examples, he explained. Volcanoes release sulfates when they erupt, and the largest ones are strong enough to push them into the stratosphere.<\/p>\n<p>                                                                                                        <!-- TechX - News - In-article --><\/p>\n<p>                                                                                                                                            &#8220;So we have evidence from the past that if sulfate aerosols make it up to the stratosphere, there&#8217;s a cooling effect,&#8221; he said. &#8220;This natural analog gives us a bit more belief that it&#8217;s going to work at least in some of the ways we expect it to in the real world and not just on a computer.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The other two types of solar geoengineering researchers consider most seriously are marine cloud brightening to reflect incoming sunlight and Cirrus cloud thinning to let light escape more easily. Each one has pros and cons. For example, marine cloud brightening would only occur over the deepest and darkest parts of the ocean, Harding said, &#8220;which would have a non-uniform cooling effect and could lead to certain adverse outcomes.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Stratospheric aerosol injection has a more uniform distribution and cooling effect that better mimics the warming we&#8217;re experiencing. However, it comes with its own concerns, one of which is that the cooling isn&#8217;t permanent.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If something h<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ened to stop the deployment of the aerosols, whether it was for political or technological reasons, we would bounce right back and experience a rapid heating that we&#8217;ve never experienced before, and could have catastrophic impacts,&#8221; Harding said.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_are_the_costs_and_benefits_of_solar_geoengineering\"><\/span>What are the costs and benefits of solar geoengineering?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>This question is where Harding&#8217;s research makes the most impact. As an economist, he examines the costs and benefits of solar geoengineering to highlight the tradeoffs involved. Harding has published articles on how solar geoengineering could <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/oxrep\/grad044\">impact other climate change mitigation policies<\/a>, how it <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2020-01-solar-geoengineering-mitigate-climate-income.html\">affects income inequality<\/a>, and the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/14693062.2022.2091509\">value of reducing uncertainty around solar geoengineering<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>                                                                                                                                            &#8220;Making it clear what the different tradeoffs are around climate policies is super important for informing decision-making,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;On one side, we have these really, at their core, basic scientific questions around whether solar geoengineering will work and if it can scale up. But it&#8217;s also an interesting question from a governance and economics perspective. Solar geoengineering has global repercussions; the decision will affect the entire world. How do we develop governance structures, conversations, and inclusivity to ensure we&#8217;re making a choice for the collective good?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>For example, one of the downsides of using sulfate aerosols for solar geoengineering is negative health effects. But it also has the benefit of preventing temperature-related deaths. So, how do they compare? Harding&#8217;s recently submitted paper, which is not yet peer-reviewed, finds that the benefits of reduced deaths outweigh the adverse health effects of solar geoengineering &#8220;by at least an order of magnitude\u2014if not two orders of magnitude,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Harding notes that a more comprehensive comparison of risks and benefits is still required, but in the context of the two health impacts he examined, &#8220;Yes, it&#8217;s a concern, and something we should consider, but we need to put it in perspective that the benefits are significantly greater than that negative effect.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>                                                                                                        <!-- TechX - News - In-article --><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_is_solar_geoengineering_controversial\"><\/span>Why is solar geoengineering controversial?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Uncertain health outcomes? Check. What else makes solar geoengineering so controversial that some academics want to ban public funding, experiments, patents, deployment, and support for the technology in international institutions?<\/p>\n<p>There is a running theme in climate conversations that discussing adaptation policies reduces the focus on cutting emissions, Harding said, and the concerns around solar geoengineering are the same: not just that it will pull research funds from mitigation efforts, but that it will pull attention from dealing with the source of the warming as well. (His 2023 paper examines this problem.)<\/p>\n<p>Although he disagrees, others believe that researching solar geoengineering also makes it more likely that we deploy it, Harding explained. So, for those against the technology, disrupting research efforts to prevent the idea from moving further makes sense.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Whats_next\"><\/span>What&#8217;s next?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>As with any unfamiliar and emerging technology, questions arise, such as, will this go horribly wrong and destroy the planet? Or, will it be the solution to all of our problems?<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Putting my realistic hat on, it&#8217;s probably somewhere in between,&#8221; Harding said. &#8220;It&#8217;s always hard to predict the future, but I can propose what I think is a realistic hope for where it can go.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Harding anticipates more research and is hopeful for continued discourse between academics and the public.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The first and most important thing to do is make people aware of this technology and educate them about it,&#8221; Harding said. &#8220;We have to understand how <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a> people, outside of policymakers, feel about it\u2014because that matters a lot.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He also wants to see more serious international policy discussions around governing solar geoengineering to prevent a situation where one person or country deploys it independently. Whether it&#8217;s a moratorium on its use or another agreement, international guidelines would help legitimize research without fears of a rogue actor, he explained.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Final_takeaway\"><\/span>Final takeaway<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>To package it all up into a neat little tagline, &#8220;Solar geoengineering is a really new technology that could alleviate a lot of suffering in the case of climate change. But there&#8217;s a lot of uncertainty, and it needs a lot more attention to quell any concerns about catastrophe,&#8221; Harding said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The most salient concern is that we put a lot of faith in solar geoengineering, invest a lot of resources, and slow down emissions cuts because we think we have a silver bullet. And then we get to 2080 and realize it doesn&#8217;t work as expected. That&#8217;s a very real concern.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;But the one that receives less attention is if we put solar geoengineering aside and don&#8217;t spend the resources investigating it. Then we get to 2080 and realize, &#8216;Wow, this technology could have worked and relieved a lot of suffering.&#8217; I think it&#8217;s important to understand the flip side of that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"d-inline-block text-medium my-4\">\n                                                Provided by<br \/>\n                                                                                                    Georgia Institute of Technology<br \/>\n                                                                                                        <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"icon_open\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/\"><br \/>\n                                                        <svg><use href=\"https:\/\/techx.b-cdn.net\/tmpl\/v2\/img\/svg\/sprite.svg#icon_open\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\"\/><\/svg><\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p>                                        <!-- print only --><\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none d-print-block\">\n<p>                                                <strong>Citation<\/strong>:<br \/>\n                                                Can solar geoengineering save the world? (2024, February 7)<br \/>\n                                                retrieved 7 February 2024<br \/>\n                                                from https:\/\/techxplore.com\/<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>\/2024-02-solar-geoengineering-world.html<\/p>\n<p>                                            This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no<br \/>\n                                            part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script id=\"facebook-jssdk\" async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/science\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Science category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2024-02-solar-geoengineering-world.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Credit: Pixabay\/CC0 Public Domain The concept of solar geoengineering\u2014blocking the sun&#8217;s radiation to slow Earth&#8217;s warming\u2014is no longer just the realm of science fiction. In 2023, the U.S. government and the UN released reports on the topic. Whether or not solar geoengineering can save the world is up for debate, and Tony Harding, an assistant&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":607784,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2024\/solar.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-607783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sciencee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=607783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607783\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}