I don’t think human psychology will allow a united approach to global warming. Too man people are too stupid, to egoistic or just in such a tight spot they can not afford being “climate-friendly”.
So I wonder if there are Mega-Projects available to stop global warming?
Some coming to mind:
Reflector mirror at Lagrange1 between Sun and Earth - even a 1.000.000km² mirror from ultrathin film would weigh 1000 tonnes at most.
Giant Air Scrubers and I mean giant. They would dwarf the pyramids and remove pullutants and CO² from the athmosphere.
In addition I think a originator principle should become common: Any nation not really trying to act clean should simply be burdened with massive tariff measures. Using modern technology it shouldn’t be too hard to find nations who polute the ocean unnececerrally.
Edit, it became reality:
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You are right on human psychology. The big problem with these mega proje ts is who will pay for them? Furthermore, what could try would stifle theor own economy to penalize another?
Well, if the EU and the US would put the money together then it would be enough. 1000 tons of mirror would be less than 20% of the yearlyx US defence budget and less than 40% of the yearly EU regenerative energby budget.
I think this is not the way.
It’s like with dental care. The solution is not to don’t care and think that someday technology will fix it. Instead you should brush regularly, don’t eat much sugar and visit the dentist now and then. It’s prevention.
We currently don’t have any technology that will save us and time is running out. Why bet on a tech wonder that needs to be mass ready in no time?
In my oppinion were are long beyond “brush your teeth.” - like the following (disgusting) picture shows: https://www.oralsurgeryofutah.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4985/2020/12/What-Health-Problems-Can-Result-in-Bad-Teeth.jpg?w=700
At that point you need to take drastic measurements. Because I tell you something: If you wait for all humans to become smart then you already have lost. If you though rely on some outstanding humans… that might work.
I have read about potentially releasing reflective particles into the atmosphere. Should be a lot easier and cheaper than building some huge mirror. The problem is, we don’t know what side effects it could cause down the line.
There are a few YouTube videos out there where science communicators (one of them is Kyle Hill) do a few basic calculations on these projects and conclude that it’s impossible.
For example, the mirrors would need to be a swarm of satellites that are launched by hundreds of rockets every day for decades with no pauses.
actually I know that video and it was BS. HE was talking about a MASSIVE mirror. That one would reflect like 90% of incoming light. I am talking about a non-stabilized foil reflecting about 30-60% of incoming light. That is a lot easier to do and weights less than 2% of a full mirror. It would take 50 Ariana6 launches for the whole thing.
