Support NeoGAF

[ToxicAdam]

There's never gonna be technology to stop that. PEACE.

Actually if we focused on learning how to survive under the ocean, we could survive just about anything.

 

[Bolshevik]

Wouldn't this cause massive eutrophication?

Reducing CO2 while fucking up all ocean life in that area?

Not really, the life cycle of these organisms is cyclical.

Adding iron would just create higher peaks, but with higher peaks comes more zooplankton that eat the phytoplankton and so on and so on. This technique is a waste of time as of now. There are much better ideas for reducing global warming out there.

 

[Canis lupus]

Sounds cool. Plus, it's just another step towards terraforming. Whatever it takes to keep us alive long enough for a comet or meteor to kill us off. There's never gonna be technology to stop that. PEACE.

Inter planetary ballistic missiles.

 

[antonz]

Seems like the kind of thinking Humankind would do. Delay the shit for a few decades to centuries so we dont have to worry about it and leave the shit hitting the fan scenario for our kids kids kids

 

[SouthernDragon]

Not really, the life cycle of these organisms is cyclical.

Adding iron would just create higher peaks, but with higher peaks comes more zooplankton that eat the phytoplankton and so on and so on. This technique is a waste of time as of now. There are much better ideas for reducing global warming out there.

But... the idea isn't that this, and only this, will remove all excess carbon from the atmosphere, but rather one of many techniques that can be used to address the problem.

 

[Glasswork]

What is this?

Gyo

By Junji Ito, I never finished it :Y

 

[RedCoyote]

Only really works in places that are rich in key nutrients but aren't yielding much growth, iron is a very minor nutrient but sometimes that's the only thing missing. Anyway, the problems are mostly complete unknowns, like what kind of changes or how much of a change. There's also the problem (as some people have mentioned) where oxygen levels in the deep sea might drop due to excessive detritus.

The sequestered carbon is pretty much all calcium carbonate (basically chalk) from the dead plankton. I would say a better idea would be to stimulate calcifying plankton by adding calcium, which could be upwelled from depths above the Carbonate Compensation Depth (where the calcium carbonate dissolves faster than it accumulates). The problem here is whether or not this causes sequestered carbon to be released, as well as all those issues with the iron fertilization regarding messing up ecosystems.

 

[iamblades]

The most efficient geoengineering to stop global warming is solar radiation management, more specifically statospheric sulfur aerosols. A tiny amount of sulfur in the stratosphere has the potential to drop temperatures by a huge amount.

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

The most efficient geoengineering to stop global warming is solar radiation management, more specifically statospheric sulfur aerosols. A tiny amount of sulfur in the stratosphere has the potential to drop temperatures by a huge amount.

We can only hope more volcanoes erupt

 

[RedCoyote]

We can only hope more volcanoes erupt

Oh man, remember the last episode of Dinosaurs?

 

[Famassu]

No, I mean if humans suddenly switched to vegetarian diets, what would agribusiness do to the environment to accomodate? Law of unforseen consequences and all that. I'm not saying it would be worse, I'm saying different and complex problems might emerge.

Why would it do anything to the environment? We wouldn't need to increase farming as we'd already produce more food than is necessary.

 

[Imbarkus]

Okay I have read every one of these comics when someone has been good enough to provide a link... AHEM!