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Wouldn't earth based reflection be a lot simpler? E.g artificial clouds/ice/etc to reflect sunlight off the planet?



That's what stratospheric sulfate aerosols[0] are. Same stuff the industry already dumps into the atmosphere but dumped way higher in low amounts and easy to reverse: you can just shut it down and the effects fade over the course of the following year.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratospheric_aerosol_injectio...


Like polar ice ?

this would be simpler for sure but it would require very difficult things to attain such as having people relinquish their air conditioning, stopping capitalism and consumerism, changing the global industrial process, diminishing our energy consumption, replacing the current political systems with democratic ones, returning to ways of producing food that do not cause soil infertility.


Exactly like polar ice. The problem as you point out is that polar ice is reducing which just makes it worse.

And obviously this whole discussion about technological solutions is due to the fact that all those things you list seem to be impossible or happening too slowly.

I doubt artificial ice is the easiest solution, but e.g artificial clouds could be perhaps.


I saw something on TV a few years ago about a project to make boats which would spray a fine mist high into the atmosphere, ie. create artificial clouds to reduce the heating of the earth.




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