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posted by martyb on Saturday April 18 2015, @01:11PM   Printer-friendly
from the not-going-to-end-well dept.

Any attempts to engineer the climate are likely to result in "different" climate change, rather than its elimination, new results suggest. Prof Ken Caldeira, of Stanford University, presented research at a major conference on the climate risks and impacts of geoengineering. These techniques have been hailed by some as a quick fix for climate change.

But the impacts of geoengineering on oceans, the water cycle and land environments are hotly debated. They have been discussed at a meeting this week of 12,000 scientists in Vienna. Researchers are familiar with the global cooling effects of volcanic eruptions, seen both historically and even back into the deep past of the rock record. With this in mind, some here at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly ( http://www.egu2015.eu ) have been discussing the possible worldwide consequences of pumping sulphate aerosols into the stratosphere to attempt to reflect sunlight back into space and cool the planet.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-32334528

 
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  • (Score: 2) by BsAtHome on Saturday April 18 2015, @01:24PM

    by BsAtHome (889) on Saturday April 18 2015, @01:24PM (#172390)

    We pump CO2 into the atmosphere -> it gets warmer.
    Then we pump sulphur into the atmosphere -> we get acid rain.
    Add another compound -> it rains lemons.

    When do we learn? Oh, we don't, until it becomes a catastrophe. But that is the next generation's problem... Sigh.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 18 2015, @01:29PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 18 2015, @01:29PM (#172393)

    A lot of people fear-monger about the Sahara Desert getting larger every year. While that's true, they conveniently forget to mention that we see deserts in other areas of the world shrinking due to human intervention (such as modern irrigation techniques).

    If people in Peru, which isn't exactly the most prosperous nation around, can figure out how to turn desert into arable land, why can't North Africans? North Africa actually has more sources of water than Peru does, and a much less hostile terrain.

    • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Saturday April 18 2015, @01:54PM

      by kaszz (4211) on Saturday April 18 2015, @01:54PM (#172401) Journal

      It's likely about the thinking culture and peer trust in different societies.
      Darwinian competition among societies perhaps.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 18 2015, @01:56PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 18 2015, @01:56PM (#172403)

        Are you saying that North African societies are inferior to Peruvian society, at least when it comes to intellect and performing work?

        • (Score: 1) by t-3 on Saturday April 18 2015, @02:44PM

          by t-3 (4907) on Saturday April 18 2015, @02:44PM (#172417)

          You could probably make a good argument that north african countries are less socially minded, after all, aren't they all totalitarian dictatorships for the most part? Not sure about Peru, but I'm pretty sure they're reasonably democratic and they have some prominent communist groups.

    • (Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Saturday April 18 2015, @06:31PM

      by Joe Desertrat (2454) on Saturday April 18 2015, @06:31PM (#172513)

      A lot of people fear-monger about the Sahara Desert getting larger every year. While that's true, they conveniently forget to mention that we see deserts in other areas of the world shrinking due to human intervention (such as modern irrigation techniques).

      Modern irrigation techniques are usually temporary fixes. Places like the Imperial Valley are not going to be reclaimed desert forever. Watering usually results in increased alkalization of the soil and unless more and more expensive techniques are used to mitigate that the soil eventually becomes too alkaline for crops. In the long run it will be even more of a desert than before man tried to alter it.

  • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Saturday April 18 2015, @01:42PM

    by kaszz (4211) on Saturday April 18 2015, @01:42PM (#172397) Journal

    Ah, climate engineers need to learn from big pharmaceutical corporations..

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 18 2015, @01:50PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 18 2015, @01:50PM (#172400)

      Why would climatologists and climate engineers need to figure out how to create and manufacture pills that make a man's erection last longer?