Here’s why the Bay Area has the perfect weather for a first-of-its kind geoengineering study

By -
https://www.sfchronicle.com/weather/article/geoengineering-cloud-research-alameda-19368199.php

By Anthony Edwards, San Francisco Chronicle. 

Excerpt: In Alameda [CA], scientists are embarking on a novel attempt to cool the Earth — by spraying salt into clouds. The work, known as marine cloud brightening, is controversial and is just one method of geoengineering — which describes interventions meant to slow Earth’s warming. But proponents say the technology may be needed to mitigate climate change. To brighten clouds, researchers spray microscopic sea salt into the air over the ocean to boost clouds’ reflectivity. This means less sunlight is absorbed, leading to a planetary cooling effect. ...Scientists hypothesize that by manually increasing the number of particles in the atmosphere, clouds will reflect more sunlight back to space, causing Earth to cool. ...Scientists like Russell say that before more drastic solutions are deployed, the focus should be on reining in greenhouse gas emissions and making further investments in solar and wind power.  “Emitting particles to offset global warming is not the smartest idea … but it may be better than doing nothing,” Russell said. “Given the point we’re at with warming and climate change, we feel it’s important to know what our options are.”....

Popular posts from this blog

2024 was the hottest year on record, breaching a critical climate goal and capping 10 years of unprecedented heat

By -
By Laura Paddison , CNN.  Excerpt: It’s official: 2024 was the hottest year on record, breaking the  previous record  set in 2023 and pushing the world over a critical climate threshold, according to new data from Europe’s climate monitoring agency Copernicus [ https://climate.copernicus.eu/copernicus-2024-first-year-exceed-15degc-above-pre-industrial-level ]. Last year was 1.6 degrees hotter than the period before humans began burning large amounts of fossil fuels, Copernicus found. It makes 2024 the first calendar year to breach  the 1.5-degree limit  countries agreed to avoid under the Paris climate agreement in 2015. Scientists are much more concerned about breaches over decades, rather than single years — as above that threshold humans and ecosystems may struggle to adapt — but 2024’s   record   “does mean we’re getting dangerously close,” said Joeri Rogelj, a climate professor at Imperial College London....  Full article at https://www.cnn.c...
Read more

Where Glaciers Melt, the Rivers Run Red

By -
By Mitra Taj , The New York Times.  Excerpt: As the glaciers of South America retreat, the supply of freshwater is dwindling and its quality is getting worse. Dionisia Moreno, a 70-year-old Indigenous farmer, still remembers when Shallap River, nearly 13,000 feet up in the Cordillera Blanca, brought crystal clear water brimming with trout to her village, Jancu. “People and animals alike could drink the water without suffering,” she said. “Now the water is red. No one can drink it.”....  Full article at https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/19/science/peru-glaciers-water-pollution.html . 
Read more

Warmer, more crowded cities bring out the rats

By -
By Elizabeth Pennisi , Science.  Excerpt: Climate change  emerged as a driving factor behind urban rat swarms , the researchers report today in  Science Advances . As temperatures rise, they conclude, and people flock to urban areas and convert formerly “green” spaces into neighborhoods and shopping centers, they created a perfect storm for rat populations to explode. And the city that’s fared the worst over the past decade? Washington, D.C.....  Full article at https://www.science.org/content/article/warmer-more-crowded-cities-bring-out-rats . 
Read more