Fine ash from the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo – the largest volcanic eruption in the last 100 years – lowered global temperatures by 0.5 degrees Celsius for almost two years.īut to offset global warming caused by carbon emissions, an artificial aerosol particle shield would need to be continuously replenished over several decades, running contrary to a goal of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to prevent “dangerous human interference with the climate system”. Scientists know that aerosol particles can temporarily cool the earth’s surface. Photo credit: Sgt Val Gempis Too much risk The 1991 Mount Pinatubo volcanic eruption in the Philippines threw enough sulfate and other aerosol particles into the stratosphere to cool the Earth. To prevent this, the open letter suggests five urgent protective measures: no outdoor experiments, no implementation, no patents, no public funding and no support from international institutions such as the United Nations. And global weather patterns could change unpredictably.ĭespite the potential dangers, no mechanism exists today to stop an individual, company or country from launching a solo mission, said Gupta. Photosynthesis, which depends on sunlight, may slow down, possibly harming biodiversity and agriculture. The chemical composition of the ozone layer and oceans may be permanently altered. “It might be possible to do, but it is too risky,” she told Mongabay in an interview. Gupta placed solar geoengineering in the category of high-risk technologies, like human cloning and chemical weapons, that need to be off-limits. “Some things we should just restrict at the outset,” said one of the open letter’s lead authors, Aarti Gupta, a professor of Global Environmental Governance at Wageningen University. The academics who signed the open letter and article released in the Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews climate change online publication on January 17 includes award-winning author Amitav Ghosh, the president of the German Environment Agency Dirk Messner, Cambridge University climatologist Mike Hulme and the Stockholm Environment Institute’s research director Åsa Persson. But a coalition of over 60 academics wrote in an open letter that this needs to be stopped. There is a last-resort technological fix gaining traction to curb global temperatures – blocking the sun’s rays with an artificial particle shield launched high into Earth’s atmosphere. Video: Watch this cat’s dramatic reaction as he protests while getting his nails trimmed.‘Taranath Tantrik’: Fascinating tales of occult practices from a classic Bengali writer.Film review: Vin Diesel's XXX: Return of Xander Cage has superb stunts and an agile Deepika Padukone.Remembering the first major Carnatic music concert in the United States.‘A cliff of clay called home’: What a Tibetan prisoner remembers of his motherland’s ancient culture.Hockey, FIH Pro League, India vs Great Britain as it happened: GB top points table with 4-2 win.On a propaganda tour in India, the first Black Ivy League professor found complexities and paradoxes.‘Agra’ isn’t for the faint-hearted – and director Kanu Behl won’t have it any other way.No dating, marriage or childbirth: Why South Korean women are done with men.‘City of Dreams’ season 3 review: Political drama is running out of ways to deliver the shocks.Modi’s new parliament could see Hindi belt gain, South lose power at the Centre.New Parliament building seeks to legitimise Hindutva victory over India’s multicultural past.
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