1. Geoengineering: Direct Environmental Consequences
The Impracticality of Injecting the Atmosphere with Aerosols
By Tynan Hewes
Direct Environmental Consequences
Aerosol loading would cause ozone depletion resulting in increased ultraviolet radiation (UVB).
-UVB causes skin cancer in humans
-UVB interferes with plant biogeochemical systems
Geoengineering would negatively impact renewable energy
- Stratospheric aerosols would decrease the amount of direct sunlight by 4 watts per every watt reflected out of the atmosphere.
Geoengineering would increase acid rain
-Acid rain decreases pH in water systems which would be detrimental for many species.
Economic Consequences
The cost of injecting enough aerosols to decrease earth’s temperature by one degree Fahrenheit would be about 30 trillion dollars per year.
Geoengineering would result in indirect economic consequences.
-Pollution from geoengineering would render observatories useless. This would limit future research in the field of astronomy and waste large sums of money that could otherwise be used for scientific advance.
-More artificial light would need to be given to plants, due to the decreased natural sunlight.
What is Geoengineering?
Geoengineering is using technology to control the climate, which allows humans to minimize or reverse climate change.
One method of geoengineering is atmospheric aerosol loading. Geoengineers propose to fire sulfates into the atmosphere to increase earth's albedo. Higher albedo would cause more energy from the sun to be reflected back into space, decreasing the rate of global warming.
There is no Going Back
Aerosols cannot be removed from the atmosphere once injected.
If aerosol loading were terminated, global warming would be rapidly accelerated.
The Moral Hazard
The moral hazard is the concern that geoengineering will decrease motivation for people to mitigate their carbon dioxide output.
Geoengineering can appear to be an easy fix to climate change.
Geoengineering makes it appear as though technology will solve all environmental issues.
Climate change deniers support geoengineering. Why?
Geoengineering cannot solve all environmental problems.
Why Engineer the Climate?
Global temperatures have been rising and the climate has been changing due to human caused CO2 emissions. The effects of climate change are devastating to all of earth’s biota. Current efforts to cut emissions are insufficient to keep CO2 levels lower than the predicted safe amount.
The Proposed Solution
Geoengineering would take advantage of advanced technology to directly decrease the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
References
CHEMTRAILS
EPA. (2016, December 28). Health and Environmental Effects of Ozone Layer Depletion. Retrieved April 16, 2018, from
EPA. (2017, June 01). Effects of Acid Rain. Retrieved April 26, 2018, from
MIT. (2009, November 29). The Unintended Consequences of Sulfate Aerosols in the Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere. Retrieved April 26, 2018, from
Murphy, D. M. (2009), Effect of stratospheric aerosols on direct sunlight and implications for concentrating solar power, Environ. Sci. Technol., 43(8), 2784 – 2786, doi: /es802206b.
Robock, A., Marquard, A., Kravitz, B., & Stenchikov, G. (2009). Benefits, risks, and costs of stratospheric geoengineering. Geophysical Research Letters,36(L19703). Retrieved April 3, 2018, from
Stratospheric Aerosol Injection
Ozone Depletion