Global warming, a problem soon to be in the past

Tatum-Leigh de Vries, Hongwen School

What is global warming?

Global warming is the gradual increase in the
overall temperature of Earth’s atmosphere. The
main cause of global warming could be
attributed to anthropogenic emissions, which
include deforestation, agriculture and burning
fossil fuels. Statistics show that we have already
cleared more than 30% of all forest cover on the
planet; Earth’s glaciers are losing more than 390
billion tons of snow and ice a year and there is a
99% chance that humans are in fact responsible
for climate change. Global warming should be
considered one of the biggest concerns for
humanity.

The global solution Solar radiation management

More than 50 countries have come together and
donated an endless amount of money to the
global warming solution fund. Scientists have
devised multiple geoengineering strategies
which consist of negative emissions
technologies and solar radiation management.
So, what exactly do these long strings of words
mean?
Negative emissions technologies
Negative emissions technologies is more
commonly known as carbon dioxide removal.
The principal methods scientists have chosen
are reforestation and ocean fertilization. Ocean
fertilization is the process of spreading nutrients
over the ocean surface. These nutrients will then
stimulate phytoplankton growth in areas that
have low photosynthetic production. The
phytoplankton will have an increased CO2 intake
and by the time the phytoplankton dies, the
carbon will have sequestered into the ocean
floor. With the technology we have today, it
would not take a large technological leap to carry
out.
This is a geoengineering method which aims to limit
the effects of sunlight on Earth. The leading method
of SRM is stratospheric aerosol injection.
Stratospheric aerosol injection is similar to when a
volcano erupts. The volcano sends a cloud of ash
into the air. The sulphur dioxide in this ash mixes
with water to form sulphuric acid aerosol which
helps reflect sunlight. Research suggests that this
could help bring rainfall patterns back to their pre-
industrial averages. Nevertheless, if aerosols were
used to lower temperatures, and then this process
was suddenly stopped, global temperatures would
rapidly rebound.
Looking ahead
Now that scientists have the funding, they will be
able to conduct more experiments and in turn,
renew the world. We will start one step at a time,
first with reforestation and no-till agriculture. By
the time we have enough information on
geoengineering, we will have the capital to put
SRM and NET methods into place.