The Stratospheric Particle Injection Climate Engineering (SPICE) experiment proposed for trial by UK Scientists last month is a solution to the biggest environmental issue in recent times, climate change. This experiment is directed to check a process, to mimic the action of a volcano that cooled the Earth’s atmosphere after eruption.
The SPICE project is to prepare a delivery process for aerosol-geoengineering. The objective borrows from the natural processes that releases aerosol particles into the stratosphere, to reflect a few percent of incoming solar radiation and cool the earth within months. Balloon will be the medium for this experiment.
With the weight of advantages this project holds if successful in results, many are faced from these to disadvantages it presents to an international binding climate change deal and environmental consequences for the main objective. These issues and more was sort for in a consultation exercise conducted for the public before announcement of this project.
Disadvantages of this project can be listed and expanded in an effort to slow or erase it; some of the highlighted disadvantages prompted its postponement by six months to raise and answer further questions. Many may welcome this because of the current height of attention and contributions that will come in this ‘window period’.
The United Nations seek a deal that will bind nations to mitigate emission; this objective competes with issues considered more serious to most nations like economy and security. The deal is not impossible but unlikely anytime soon for a number of reasons, this leaves nations that care for the environment to individual actions aimed for protection; like carbon tax, emission monitoring and more.
Nations advanced in science and technology know of possibilities with geoengineering, but has been put aside to avoid conflict with moves to cut and cap emissions. This and some reasons keep geoengineering as a toddler among options seen as solutions to climate change. Geoengineering from the upper atmosphere is mostly theoretical for now and much care is exercised for unknowns it holds if adopted.
Aside reasons given for suspension of the first stage of the SPICE project, additional background reasons may also pull strength from the project. Nations may want to try theirs, some may grow cold about climate change fight, some may feel affected after what they consider as cure for one and ‘harm’ for them.
More nations should be involved in this deliberation; the United States with an advanced space agency and prominent higher colleges should present more sides to this project. From scientific to technical, political to regional, economic to cultural and religious grounds; questions for answers should be raised for this project which may be at a stage of no return now or in the near future.
This or related projects are not in offensive against a climate change deal but aimed at the same target to combat climate change. This will not stop nations from acting against global warming because of advancement and progress already made in this line. Globally, development tilts towards saving energy as an objective to starve global warming, geoengineering will come as remedial but traditional means of cutting and capping emission will stay.
Green House Gases and heat available in the earth atmosphere are within a natural range, these from several studies are changing for anthropogenic activities. Geoengineering experiments should be under extremely careful conditions to avoid any upset in the natural balance that may cause environmental harm globally.
The United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its annual Energy Outlook with projections to 2035, its was stated in the report that fossil fuels will continue to supply up to 80% of the world’s energy use by 2035 and carbon emissions may rise by about 50% at that time. This shows how important geoengineering solutions will play against climate change than just curbing emissions.
Geoengineering will quick-fix under very careful conditions, nations may also be involved in a memorandum of understanding for the future. To avoid a nation or nations trying to go carelessly alone similar to nuke issues today, geoengineering is vital as we hope to sustain the earth, support is required because disadvantages seen are points with matching answers dwarfed by important advantages.
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