Geoengineering Basics
Ultimately, it is up to individuals and groups to fight climate change and damaging acts, like littering, through long-lasting, positive changes in our habits and practices. However, there are some neat ideas that are being developed in the tech and biotechnology fields that are worth a write-up!
For starts, Geoengineering
Geoengineering is the intentional intervention in the Earth’s natural systems as a way to counteract climate change. Geoengineering can take many forms, though generally stemming from just two frameworks, and it’s usually on a pretty large-scale.
Two Types of Geoengineering
Solar geoengineering (AKA solar radiation management) is just using different techniques to try and reflect portions of the sun’s energy back into space. Thereby counteracting the temperature rise we see from greenhouse gas emissions. There are a handful of specific technologies proposed that fall under the solar geoengineering framework:
Image from: Harvard
Albedo Enhancement increases the reflective nature of clouds and our land, allowing the sun’s heat to be reflected into space.
Space Reflectors do what they sound like! They are likely equipment that would be sent out into space to reflect the sun’s light before it even reached the Earth.
Stratospheric Aerosols are sprayed around the upper atmosphere of the Earth and contain small, reflective particles. These particles, like Space Reflectors, reflect light from the sun before it reaches our Earth’s surface.
The second framework of geoengineering is carbon geoengineering (AKA greenhouse gas removal). The purpose of carbon geoengineering is to remove the greenhouse gases as they exist on the Earth already, with the hope of countering greenhouse gas effects and ocean acidification. Unlike solar geoengineering, which could take place on a smaller scale (though still pretty large), carbon geoengineering would need to occur on a global scale because greenhouse gas levels are so prominent. Types of carbon geoengineering:
Afforestation is a global rally around tree planting.
Biochar involves the “charring” of biomass. Once charred, the biomass is buried so that the carbon is stuck in the soil rather than roaming around Earth.
Bio-energy alongside Carbon Capture and Sequestration is a little of a mouthful, but it’s really like two-in-one! With bio-energy and carbon capture, the biomass is still burned, but that burning is used to create energy while the carbon dioxide is being captured and sequestered (isolated).
Ambient Air Capture involves the building of massive machines that assist in the removal of carbon dioxide within ambient air. These machines then store the carbon dioxide elsewhere.
Ocean Fertilization is the practice of adding nutrients to the ocean. These nutrients would only be added in some locations, but the added nutrients would increase the primary production – which is the rate at which atmospheric carbon dioxide is converted by primary producers into organic material. This increase would allow carbon dioxide to be brought down in the atmosphere.
Enhanced Weathering involves large quantities of minerals. Basically, the minerals would be exposed and they would react with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Because they are minerals, the carbon dioxide they reacted with would be stored in the resulting ocean or soil compound.
Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement would entail grinding up, dispersing, and dissolving rocks inside the oceans. The type of rock matters here! Some rocks (i.e. limestone) could potentially increase the ocean’s ability to store carbon, while directly positively impacting ocean acidification.
Where did Geoengineering come from?
We’ve been discussing geoengineering as a potential solution for about as long as we’ve been facing the threat of climate change. In the 1960s, American researchers suggested that we put loads (read: billions) of white objects into the oceans. The hope was that the white would reflect the sunlight away from Earth. The original hope was that they could float billions of golf balls!
In 1977, Austria-based scientist Cesar Marchetti led a conversation on the ways Europe could catch CO2 emissions, and then injecting these emissions back into the sinking Atlantic currents.
A Soviet scientist in 1982 proposed that we fill the stratosphere with sulfate particles to reflect the sunlight beaming down on us. This scientist was Mikhail Budyko.
And in 1995 we had the first experiments to test fertilizing the oceans with iron! The thought was that iron would stimulate the growth of carbon dioxide absorbing algae.
Almost 40 years after the initially recorded intro into geoengineering and Edward Teller, an inventor in the hydrogen bomb, suggested that we put mirrors in space as a way to create sunlight reflection.
Why aren’t we using any of these ideas?
Image from: Business Insider
Namely, technology like this is really, really expensive either to build or implement. Not only that, but none of these ideas are guaranteed to work and we still have time to head in a different direction! Though, some experts do believe that we are reaching a point where geoengineering might be our only option in regards to meeting international community promises. One promise involves the prevention of dangerous anthropocentric (human activity) interference in the climate system (UN).
Some of these technologies, like carbon capture, are actually proven to work. The issue, though, is that we have to have space to place this massive infrastructure. Giving up land is not as easy as it might sound! This is partially because of our reliance on land to produce food. If we give up farmland we would face an issue in food production. The other consideration is in forestland. If we allow forests to be taken down and replaced with carbon capture technology, the benefits of such tech would pretty much disappear!
What’s positive about this?
It can seem like there’s no silver lining, but the sheer fact that geoengineering exists should be something that is celebrated. First, the existence means that people, whether as individuals or a group, are thinking about climate change. It means that the state of our environment is of concern and people want to create a unique solution to a situation that can often feel overwhelming! Second, it means that we likely are going to have options.
However, there are some current scientists that have hesitation when it comes to geoengineering and the public. Their belief is that geoengineering should not be viewed as an “easy fix” to greenhouse gas emissions and our warming temperatures. The last thing these scientists and biotech experts want is to encourage a delay in reducing our use of non-renewable resources. After all, the potential change created through geoengineering would have a much more significant impact if we paired it with our change in consumption!