Here's more on the subject. Eric
Should We Block the Sun? Scientists Say the Time Has Come to Study It.
The National Academies said the United States must study technologies that
would artificially cool the planet by reflecting away some sunlight, citing the
lack of progress fighting global warming.
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[Mount Sinabung in Karo, Indonesia, erupting earlier this month. Solar
geoengineering technology can involve the dispersal of aerosols in the air
similar to those from volcanic eruptions.]
Mount Sinabung in Karo, Indonesia, erupting earlier this month. Solar
geoengineering technology can involve the dispersal of aerosols in the air
similar to those from volcanic eruptions.Credit...Associated Press
[Christopher Flavelle]<https://www.nytimes.com/by/christopher-flavelle>
By Christopher Flavelle<https://www.nytimes.com/by/christopher-flavelle>
Published March 25, 2021Updated March 28, 2021
WASHINGTON — The idea of artificially cooling the planet to blunt climate
change — in effect, blocking sunlight before it can warm the atmosphere — got a
boost on Thursday when an influential scientific body urged the United States
government to spend at least $100 million to research the technology.
That technology, often called solar geoengineering, entails reflecting more of
the sun’s energy back into space through techniques that include injecting
aerosols into the atmosphere. In a new
report<https://www.nap.edu/catalog/25762/reflecting-sunlight-recommendations-for-solar-geoengineering-research-and-research-governance>,
the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine said that
governments urgently need to know whether solar geoengineering could work and
what the side effects might be.
“Solar geoengineering is not a substitute for decarbonizing,” said Chris Field,
director of the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University and
head of the committee that produced the report, referring to the need to emit
less carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Still, he
said, technology to reflect sunlight “deserves substantial funding, and it
should be researched as rapidly and effectively as possible.”
The report acknowledged the risks that have made geoengineering one of the most
contentious issues in climate policy. Those risks include upsetting regional
weather patterns in potentially devastating ways, for example by changing the
behavior of the monsoon in South Asia; relaxing public pressure to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions; and even creating an “unacceptable risk of
catastrophically rapid warming” if governments started reflecting sunlight for
a period of time, and then later stopped.
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But the authors argue that greenhouse gas emissions are not falling quickly
enough to avoid dangerous levels of global warming, which means the world must
begin to examine other options. Evidence for or against solar geoengineering,
they found, “could have profound value” in guiding decisions about whether to
deploy it.
That includes evidence about what the authors called the social risks: For
example, if research showed that the side effects would be concentrated in
poorer nations, Dr. Field said, it could be grounds not to pursue the
technology, even if it benefited the world as a whole.
The report also argued that by publicly funding geoengineering research, the
United States could ensure that the work is transparent and accountable to the
public, with clear rules about when and how to test the technology.
Some critics said those safeguards weren’t enough.
The steps urged in the report to protect the interests of poorer countries —
for example, accounting for farmers in South Asia whose lives could be upended
by changes in rain patterns — could fall away once the research begins,
according to Prakash Kashwan, a professor of political science at the
University of Connecticut.
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“Once these kinds of projects get into the political process, the scientists
who are adding all of these qualifiers, and all of these cautionary notes,
aren’t in control,” Dr. Kashwan said.
Jennie Stephens, director of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at
Northeastern University, said that geoengineering research takes money and
attention from the core problem, which is cutting emissions and helping
vulnerable communities cope with the climate disruptions that are already
happening.
“We need to double down on bigger transformative changes,” Dr. Stephens said.
“That’s where the investment needs to be.”
Solar geoengineering has bipartisan support in Congress, which in late 2019
gave the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration $4 million to research
the
technology<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/28/climate/climate-change-geoengineering.html>.
A Guide to Climate News
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Keep Up With Climate News:
* The E.P.A.
said<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/climate/trump-science-epa.html?name=styln-climate&action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-climate®ion=MAIN_CONTENT_3&context=storylines-digest®ion=TOP_BANNER%E2%96%88=storyline_menu_recirc&action=click&pgtype=Article&impression_id=&variant=show>
it would carry out an accounting of political interference in science, an
unusually public act that Biden administration officials said was needed to
restore trust in the agency’s decisions.
* Your salmon may be a vegetarian. Farmed fish are eating more veggies
and less wild fish, according to new
research.<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/24/climate/salmon-vegetarian-fish.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-climate®ion=MAIN_CONTENT_3&context=storylines-digest>
* President Biden’s economic recovery plan, worth up to $4 trillion,
represents a fundamental shift in the way Democrats talk about tackling climate
change.<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/23/climate/biden-infrastructure-stimulus-climate-change.html?name=styln-climate&action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-climate®ion=MAIN_CONTENT_3&context=storylines-digest®ion=TOP_BANNER%E2%96%88=storyline_menu_recirc&action=click&pgtype=Article&impression_id=&variant=show>
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Go Deep on Electric Vehicles
* How Green Are
They?<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/climate/electric-vehicles-environment.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-climate®ion=MAIN_CONTENT_3&context=storylines-digest>
The upsides and downsides of electric cars.
* How to Buy
One:<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/20/at-home/electric-car-models.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-climate®ion=MAIN_CONTENT_3&context=storylines-digest>
In the market for an electric car? Here’s a guide to your options.
* Is the U.S.
Ready?<https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/29/climate/gm-electric-cars-power-grid.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-climate®ion=MAIN_CONTENT_3&context=storylines-digest>
Is the nation’s electric grid ready for an influx of electric vehicles?
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Understand Climate Change
* This seven-part
<https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/04/19/climate/climate-crash-course-7.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-climate®ion=MAIN_CONTENT_3&context=storylines-digest>
series will help you get a fuller understanding of the science of climate
change, how government policies can make a difference and what you can do to
help turn the tide.
* Today, 1 percent of the world is too hot for humans to live. By 2070,
that may increase to 19 percent. What will happen to the billions of people who
currently live in those
areas?<https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/23/magazine/climate-migration.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-climate®ion=MAIN_CONTENT_3&context=storylines-digest>
* Want to go even deeper? Maybe it’s time to pick up a book about
climate change. We can help you find the right
one.<https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/climate/climate-change-books.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-climate®ion=MAIN_CONTENT_3&context=storylines-digest>
* Also, find out how much hotter your
hometown<https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/30/climate/how-much-hotter-is-your-hometown.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-climate®ion=MAIN_CONTENT_3&context=storylines-digest>
has become. The engineering and land management that enabled California’s
tremendous growth have left it more vulnerable to climate
shocks<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/20/climate/california-climate-disasters.html?action=click&pgtype=Article&state=default&module=styln-climate®ion=MAIN_CONTENT_3&context=storylines-digest>,
which are getting worse.
“America needs to be on the cutting edge of climate research,” Representative
John Curtis, Republican of Utah, said in a statement. “More knowledge is always
better.”
The calculation could be more difficult for President Biden, who has tried to
gain the support of the party’s progressive wing, some of whom are skeptical
about geoengineering. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has called it a “false
solution<https://berniesanders.com/issues/green-new-deal/>,” grouping it with
nuclear power or capturing carbon dioxide and burying it underground.
Asked for comment on the report, a White House spokesman, Vedant Patel, said by
email that President Biden “has been clear about addressing the climate
crisis.” He added, “innovative solutions that can help accomplish this should
be looked into and studied.”
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Tylar Greene, a spokeswoman for NASA, which helped fund the report, said in a
statement that “we look forward to reviewing the report, examining
recommendations, and exploring how NASA and its research community can support
this effort.”
Ko Barrett, deputy assistant administrator at NOAA, which also helped fund the
report, said in a statement that the agency looked forward to “carefully
reviewing” it. The Department of Energy, another funder, didn’t respond to a
request for comment.
The endorsement by the National Academies might make some lawmakers feel more
comfortable supporting the technology, according to Michael Gerrard, director
of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at the Columbia Law School and
editor of a
book<https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/climate-engineering-and-the-law/CC93F3228AE1FBB028ED18C6DE6E19B8>
on solar geoengineering.
And rather than causing people to care less about curbing greenhouse gas
emissions, he said, a large new federal research program into geoengineering
might have the opposite effect: Jolting the public into taking climate change
seriously by demonstrating that more extreme and dangerous options may soon be
necessary.
“It could be so scary that people will be even more motivated to reduce
emissions,” Mr. Gerrard said.
Correction: March 25, 2021
An earlier version of this article mistakenly substituted the word “qualities”
for “qualifiers” in a quote from Prakash Kashwan, a professor of political
science at the University of Connecticut.
Christopher Flavelle focuses on how people, governments and industries try to
cope with the effects of global warming. He received a 2018 National Press
Foundation award for coverage of the federal government's struggles to deal
with flooding. @cflav<https://twitter.com/cflav>
________________________________
From: Eric Russell <ericprussell@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, March 26, 2021 10:44 PM
To: uupretirees@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <uupretirees@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [uupretirees] Atmosphere cooling may be needed to combat climate
change, report says
Very interesting. The idea of iron filings in the air, supersized reflectors,
etc. are being recycled as a research project. These ideas were pooh poohed 30
or 40 years ago. With the accelerating loss of albedo as the ice caps melt,
some of these "radical" ideas need to be revisited. Aluminum and silver cannot
be used because their oxidation products will further poison both the
atmosphere and the oceans, aluminum, especially, will cause heavy metal
poisoning and silver is used as a poison or disinfectant, especially in medical
and agricultural work. Eric
________________________________
From: uupretirees-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <uupretirees-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> on
behalf of hils. <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, March 26, 2021 9:13 PM
To: uupretirees@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <uupretirees@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [uupretirees] Atmosphere cooling may be needed to combat climate
change, report says
I thought you'd be interested in this story from the New York Post.
Atmosphere cooling may be needed to combat climate change, report says
https://nypost.com/2021/03/26/atmosphere-cooling-may-be-needed-to-combat-climate-change-report-says/?utm_source=email_sitebuttons&utm_medium=site%20buttons&utm_campaign=site%20buttons<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnypost.com%2F2021%2F03%2F26%2Fatmosphere-cooling-may-be-needed-to-combat-climate-change-report-says%2F%3Futm_source%3Demail_sitebuttons%26utm_medium%3Dsite%2520buttons%26utm_campaign%3Dsite%2520buttons&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cb71ab34ae83a4b82c5e908d8f0bd92e5%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637524044289128230%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=DsSPWt8biK8UoVGdNQGDuXlSjj0uxHIWaXRjEUbRap4%3D&reserved=0>
Bob Kasprak
========================================
