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:
Pie in the sky mega projects won’t save us.
Honestly even humouring the idea is frankly dangerous, the only thing it will do is let shitheels kick back and do nothing because it’ll totally be taken care of by X.
Reminds me of all the Liberals (right wingers) in my country pushing carbon capture technology as the solution and undoing all the work done by the Greens.
The “high-tech solutions” were sustainable energy, banning mass animal farms, and regulating industrial pollution.
And even if we did come up with a big tech solution that works for now, literally every business would then think, “Nice, now we don’t have to care about our carbon footprint,” until even our tech can’t keep up anymore and we’re back at square one.
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.
Instead of treating the symptoms we must address the cause. The cause is CO2 emissions. The solution is to reduce these emissions. Keep the oil in ground as much as possible—we still need some for lubricants, solvents, polymers etc but honestly, burning oil is stupid since it can be used in much better ways. Although we must also reduce the use of single-use plastics, volatile organic compounds and “forever chemicals” as much as possible since these pose real environmental and health risks, too.
We have the technology to address the emissions—photovoltaics, wind, hydro and, yes, nuclear power; everyone can reduce or even stop meat consumption if they want; every city and country can build good public transport and walkable communities; every government can regulate harmful chemicals. The problem is societal inertia, NIMBY-ism, FUD plus outright conspiracy delusions and unwillingness to change from the powers-taht-be.
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.
Even if the US and EU pony up the not insignificant amount of cash to do it, there’s still nothing that can put 1000t into orbit, let alone L1. And splitting it up into 100t segments isn’t a solution, since L1 is unstable. The segments will need power, thrusters, gyros, propellant and guidance for station-keeping, so there goes a large chunk of your mass budget. To compensate for that, you need more mirrors. And they need to be continuously replaced as they break down or run out of propellant.
actually solar wind and electric charging of the rotating foil should do the trick. The gravitational effects around L1 are miniscule. If you are e.g. 1km away from L1 then it is less than 0,001% of earths gravity. The touch of a butterfly could literaly move the mirror.
