Science, Numbers and Politics by Unknown

Author:Unknown
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030112080
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Following this line of reasoning, Bart Gordon, Chairman of the House Science Committee formally recommended that “consideration of comprehensive and multi-disciplinary climate engineering research at the federal level begin as soon as possible in order to ensure scientific preparedness for future climate events”.76 Furthermore, he urged that consensus on what constitutes a “climate emergency” that would legitimately warrant “deployment of SRM technologies” would be needed.77

Second, both climate models and numerical indicators emerged as essential for facing the technical challenges of geoengineering and assessing the different approaches’ viability as such “emergency tools”. Regarding CDR approaches, experts identified economic feasibility as the core challenge.78 The basic engineering principles of CDR measures are comparatively well understood, due to a considerable body of research, field trials, and experiments.79 Solar geoengineering (SRM), however, stands in sharp contrast: The technological risks are notoriously difficult to determine, let alone contain.80 According to the Congressional experts, the fundamental issue is that SRM cannot be tested without actual deployment.81 Essential engineering details therefore remain understudied. Phil Rasch, for example, asks:How do we deliver the source to the region of release? […] Once we have a detailed idea of precisely what source we want, can we produce that source? […] After injecting the source in the stratosphere do particles form as models suggest? How do we track the plume? What instruments are required to measure the particle properties, the plume extent, and the reduction in sunlight below the plume. Do the particles coagulate and grow as our models suggest? Do the particles mix and evolve the way our models tell us they will (from source to the first scale, and from the first scale to the globe scale?).82

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