Comment on Researchers quietly planned a test to dim sunlight. They wanted to ‘avoid scaring’ the public.
LustyArgonianMana@lemmy.world 3 weeks agoIt’s literally our only option to buy us time to sequester carbon. I don’t agree with aerosol or particle based shields that aren’t easily removed, but a metal or solid shield in space locked between the sun and earth to deflect a % of the rays is totally doable and needed
WoodScientist@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
I would think the aerosol or particle based shields would be even easier to remove than something up in orbit. The stuff in orbit will need to be pretty high up if you don’t want it to immediately decay and reenter, so anything in orbit will remain that way for some time. Plus there’s Kessler to worry about. But sulfurs and other aerosols wash out of the atmosphere pretty quickly. That’s the whole reason people talk about termination shocks, and fret that we’ll have to keep the aerosol effort continuously going. To me this seems like a virtue. If at any time we decide we don’t like the effects, we can simply stop. There’s no long term commitment.
LustyArgonianMana@lemmy.world 3 weeks ago
What I’m proposing is something like the start of a dyson sphere tbh, it would be further out into space and ideally only maintained by machine, no humans.
I think the impact of spreading a bunch of sulfur or other particulates in the air is just a bad idea in terms of health for everyone, and having a large blanket or shield in space would be less risky in that aspect but yes, more technically challenging.