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TECH: 3 Geoengineering Solutions
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3 Geoengineering Solutions

to save the planet from Climate Change
By Stella Law

BT 201905 tech 073个地球工程解决方案
从气候变化中拯救地球

一些科学家们和工程师们有一个计划,叫做地球工程,它旨在直接或间接干预地球的自然系统,而不是试图抑制温室气体排放。截至今天,不同的科学家们创造了几种不同的地球工程技术 - 所有这些技术都集中在从大气中去除二氧化碳或减少太阳能撞击地球的数量。

以下是其中三个最有前途的概述:

1. 海洋铁肥施肥:交给单一细菌生物
地球的海洋中充满了微小的生物,通过捕获大气中的二氧化碳,帮助维持全球范围内的环境平衡。 他们的生活完全依赖于它,因为它们需要二氧化碳进行光合作用。

2. 植树造林:这个可能是最没有争议的解决方案

3. 平流层气溶胶注入:暂停夏季
与前两种方法不同的是, 平流层气溶胶注入完全是单独在大气中留下温室气体,而没有做出任何改变其丰度的努力。相反,它的目的是反射大量通常撞击地球的阳光。

BT 201905 tech 08Despite tell-tale signs of catastrophic consequences, the political class worldwide has failed so far to piece together an effective strategy to competently tackle the issue of greenhouse emissions.


What now, then? Do we just sit back twiddling our thumbs as human-induced climate change wreak havoc on the planet’s biodiversity -- possibly even wiping out civilization as we know it?


Well, not exactly. Some scientists and engineers have a plan. It’s called geoengineering and it is based on an alternate approach that aims to directly or indirectly intervene in the Earth’s natural systems, rather than trying to curb greenhouse emissions.


As of today, many different groups of scientists have coined several different types of geoengineering techniques – all of them focused on either removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or reducing the amount of solar energy hitting the Earth.


Here’s a rundown of three of the most promising ones among them:
 

1. Ocean Iron Fertilization: Outsourcing to Single-Celled Organisms

BT 201905 tech 02The Earth’s oceans are teeming with tiny organisms that help maintain environmental balance on a planetary scale by capturing CO2 from the atmosphere. Their lives literally depend on it, as they require the captured CO2 to conduct photosynthesis.
 

Phytoplankton, a single-celled alga, is one such organism found across all the oceans. Even at death, these organisms take away massive amounts of CO2 with them, as they sink all the way down to the ocean floor.
 

The growth of these tiny algae is by and large dependent on the amount of iron in their surroundings, which has prompted some scientists to seriously consider artificially increasing the iron content of our oceans. If successful, this technique, commonly referred to as “iron fertilization,” could theoretically lead to rapid growth in phytoplankton population.

BT 201905 tech 03While iron fertilization seems like a pretty effective way to absorb massive amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere, it comes with its fair share of risks. That’s because as of today, we have no fool proof way to accurately assess the possible consequences that the marine ecosystem will have to deal with, if humans suddenly start pumping iron into ocean water.


There’s a legal hurdle, too. Because of the potential risks that come along with it, large-scale iron fertilization is currently prohibited by international laws.


2. Afforestation: The Least Controversial Solution of All [Probably]

BT 201905 tech 04It’s unarguably the least dramatic geoengineering solution to climate change and quite possibly the only one that nobody should actually have any serious qualm against. Trees help protect the environment -- that’s something probably even the most adamant climate change deniers would acknowledge.
 

Afforestation can be a pretty effective geoengineering technique to fight climate change, when undertaken on a large scale. Trees make use of solar energy to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere and water from the ground. They breathe out the oxygen and use the leftover carbon to grow their roots and trunk.

BT 201905 tech 05The only bone of contention -- and a serious one at that -- would be that, to have any quick and noticeable impact on the climate on a planetary scale, we have to plant trees on such a massive scale that it could have some unwarranted and unforeseen side-effects, too.
 

For example, any large-scale afforestation/reforestation project worldwide could end up causing emission of a complex potpourri of chemicals, including some that actually contribute to warming the planet. Moreover, dark tree leaves could also potentially add to global temperature by absorbing more sunlight.
 

Because of these reservations, many in the scientific community recommend more studies on the possible impact of planet-wide afforestation before embarking on any such project.
 

3. Stratospheric Aerosol Injection: Pausing Summers

BT 201905 tech 06Unlike the previous two methods, stratospheric aerosol injection leaves greenhouse gases in the atmosphere totally alone, without making any effort whatsoever to alter their abundance. Instead, it aims to reflect away a large proportion of the sunlight that usually hits the Earth.
 

The technique is partly inspired by the events following the 1815 Mount Tambora volcanic eruption in Indonesia. The event ejected a very large volume of aerosols into the atmosphere, thereby weakening the effect of sunlight on the Earth. (Aerosols are extremely fine particles floating/suspending in the air.)
 

In fact, such was the impact of the aerosols that the year following the eruption was later called “The year without summer.”
 

Now, some experts in the scientific community want to mimic that effect of Mount Tambora as a counter-measure to balance out greenhouse gas effects. Work is already in progress on that front, as Harvard University takes the lead to conduct the first-ever aerosol inject experiment outside the laboratory environment.
 

Dubbed Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment (SCoPEx) is basically based on the findings of the researchers after they eject a relatively low volume of aerosol into the upper atmosphere using a balloon and then assess the follow-up impact over a period.
 

If all goes as planned, the team behind the SCoPEx experiment hopes to replicate the method on a much larger scale.

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