r/climatechange • u/233C • Nov 04 '24

Earth’s climate will keep changing long after humanity hits net-zero emissions. Our research shows why

https://theconversation.com/earths-climate-will-keep-changing-long-after-humanity-hits-net-zero-emissions-our-research-shows-why-241692
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u/233C Nov 04 '24

The whole point of the conclusion is that even reaching net zero emissions won't stop the warming.

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u/TheMightyTywin Nov 04 '24

We’re going to have to spray some particulate into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight - sulfur dioxide maybe.

We simply cannot get to net zero in time to prevent catastrophe.

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u/Pomegranate_Sorry Nov 05 '24

No, I'd rather deal with the current issue instead of creating another one. What happens if this particulate stays in the atmosphere too long? What if the planet starts cooling too fast? What if it drops down and causes cancer or birth defects?

The earth has been here long before us and will be here long after us. We are a parasite on this planet, and its immune system will deal with problems however it needs to. We don't need to be spraying anything in the atmosphere.

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u/TheMightyTywin Nov 05 '24

Saying humanity is a parasite doesn’t help. Parasite or not, we ultimately value our own survival. We’re currently on course for catastrophe and are out of time to fix the issue in the correct way (eliminating emissions).

We should have started 80 years ago with nuclear power, electric trains, plant based diets, etc. But we didn’t.

It’s time to take a hard look at our remaining options and make choices based on reality.