Dump The Sunshade At Our Peril

摘要

What happens if we tinker, then change our mind? Will all of humanity be doomed? Not necessarily. Most methods that absorb carbon dioxide would take decades to work so stopping them is unlikely to have sudden undesired effects.rnIn the most worrying scenario, sunshades would be deployed then removed. Preliminary results suggest aerosols would naturally have a stratospheric life ofrnabout one year, making them reversible if needed. But there is a big catch. If they were deployed as an excuse to continue burning fossil fuels, the masked greenhouse effect would build up and other effects such as ocean acidification would continue. Sunshades would have to be replenished or the planet would be hit with the full force of pent-up warming.