Geo-Engineering ‘Could Upset Rainfall’

[marmar]

This piece first appeared at Climate New Network.


LONDON—Geo-engineering – the confident technocrat’s last resort solution to catastrophic climate change – could create damaging conditions of its own, according to new research.

Simone Tilmes of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, in the US and an international team of colleagues report in Geophysical Research Letters: Atmospheres that at least one deliberate technological strategy to limit global warming could reduce seasonal rainfall, including the monsoons of Asia that provide a lifeline to hundreds of millions.

Senior scientists have in the last decade tentatively considered technological responses to climate change on the basis that economies, politicians and consumers show no sign of making the dramatic reductions in fossil fuel use that would cut the greenhouse gas emissions that fuel global warming.

Among these responses is a relatively simple one. If greenhouse gases go on increasing, then more solar heat will be trapped in the atmosphere. So, the world should think of a way to reduce solar radiation instead: spray sulphate particles into the stratosphere to block incoming sunlight, or even place arrays of mirrors into orbit to reflect a proportion of the sunlight away from the Earth. ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/geo-engineering_could_upset_rainfall_20131201

[RC]

1. Everything we can think of to reduce global warming, has negative consequences.

Everything, except one solution guaranteed to work.

[font size="6"][center]Get our world population numbers under control![/center][/font size]
The root problem is too many people for this planet to support. Anything else we do is just diddling with the symptoms.

[NYC_SKP]

2. +1

Except that this one idea goes against many religious principles and political and economic objectives.

How can we grow our economy without endless population growth?

How dare we stop making Christian babies unless we can be sure other cultures slow down, too?

Etc., etc....

[RC]

4. Too many people still celebrate the birth of the 3rd, 4th, 5th child, with no clue the added strain

on the limited resources this wet rock can provide.

Birth are not in anyway miracles. They are a biological fact, as shown by our over 7 billion population. If in fact, they were miracles, there would not be nearly so many of us and we would not be having this problem.

[CFLDem]

3. AMEN

[Johonny]

5. It would do nothing about ocean acidification

and putting particulates in the stratosphere generally screws up the Ozone layer but hey lets keep floating this bad idea out there.

http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=111467