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https://theconversation.com/high-tech-plans-to-save-polar-ice-will-fail-new-research-finds-264794>
"Our planet continues to warm because of greenhouse gas emissions from human
activities. The polar regions are especially vulnerable to this warming. Sea
ice extent is already declining in both the Arctic and Antarctic. The Greenland
and Antarctic ice sheets are melting, and abrupt changes in both polar
environments are underway.
These changes have significant implications for society through sea level rise,
changes to ocean circulation and climate extremes. They also have substantial
consequences for polar ecosystems, including polar bears and emperor penguins,
which have become iconic symbols of the impacts of climate change.
The most effective way to mitigate these changes, and lower the risk of
widespread impacts, is reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Yet decarbonisation
is slow, and current projections suggest temperature increases of roughly 3°C
by 2100.
Given the expected change, and the importance of the polar regions for
planetary health, some scientists and engineers have proposed technological
approaches, known as geoengineering, to soften the blow to the Arctic and
Antarctic.
In research published today in
Frontiers in Science, my colleagues and I
assessed five of the most developed geoengineering concepts being considered
for the polar regions. We found none of them should be used in the coming
decades. They are extremely unlikely to mitigate the effects of global warming
in polar regions, and are likely to have serious adverse and unintended
consequences."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
