Iron Salt Aerosol for Climate Control

"Then, about six thousand years after we were invented, it became clear that the Earth was entering one of its periodic Ice Ages. Left to its own devices this would not have been much of a problem, but it was a nuisance both we and the humans felt we could avoid. We built enormous sun-mirrors and seeded the atmosphere with greenhouse gases, and easily reversed the temperature dip. In fact, we succeeded much too well. Within a hundred years it became obvious that we had overshot our goal. But our efforts to cool the planet were not as successful as our efforts to warm it. Both ice caps melted, the sea level rose sixty meters, and vast land areas became sea floor.

This was a different nuisance, but it was not the final catastrophe.

The Antarctic continent had been crushed for millions of years beneath its three kilometer thick shield of ice; like a ship relieved of a heavy cargo it now wanted to rise, its lighter rocks buoyed up by the denser material of the Earth's mantle. And that lifting did not occur evenly. Great fault lines opened up into ranges of volcanoes as long-trapped magma suddenly found paths to the surface. New mountain ranges added their weight to the strain on the ancient continental plate as Antarctica regained its equilibrium. All the while a dense soot cloud blanketed the Earth and the brief summer of warming darkened into a cruel permanent winter.

The ice caps returned, but the southern snow accumulation did not stop the volcanoes. Glaciers raced toward the Equator, and after they met the oceans began to freeze. Later the atmosphere's carbon dioxide began to collect as snow on the poles. We had long since given up on saving our creators and worked instead to record their accomplishments and understand their biology before they were gone."

[1] http://localroger.com/

1. Rock dust carbon sequestration on farm land: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31199271

2. Algae tech to amplify photosynthetic carbon capture https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31178435

3. “High Hopes”: using airships to capture carbon ice in the upper atmosphere (stoners!) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31178667

And yes, let’s be curious! After all, many scientists are seeking to ban science in this area. Hard to believe. https://climateandcapitalism.com/2022/01/17/climate-scientis...

I can imagine humans a century from now wishing we had deployed them sooner and prevented so much unnecessary destruction.

That said I’m all for climate engineering. Being scared of it is like telling somebody obese that they should stick to sugary soda because nutrasweet could have unknown health side effects. Or teaching abstinence instead of safe sex education.

I know all sorts of buttons are being pushed with these analogies. But we obviously have a massive problem on our hands. There is a path out (reducing fossil everything) that we know is extremely difficult to implement, and by all current measures not going to work. So rationally we absolutely should try alternatives - at least TRY. And not assume they are bad while continuing to yell at the world that they need to be more virtuous.

What happens if oil companies lobby for extra coldness and cloud cover, as they know they will more than make up the expense in additional fuel costs? What if other vested interests get involved in what is bound to become a political scam? Is it possible that a slightly warmer climate will be of benefit to most people?

The chutzpah that the governance structure has in believing themselves righteous in determining not just the level of fines, or of the required licensing you need, or taxation, but now even the weather is unbelievable! Who gave them the right? Does say the US have the right to determine the weather for other countries? The whole concept would surely be illegal, if law was even based morality.. which its not.