> Bottom line: we need large scale carbon capture quickly
The short term solution/bandaid is pumping SO2 into the stratosphere while we figure out carbon capture.
The short term solution/bandaid is pumping SO2 into the stratosphere while we figure out carbon capture.
Because it would be expensive, but it would kill several birds with one stone: we (1) prove whether the concept would work on Mars, (2) develop the technology to do it, and (3) unlike SO2 in the atmosphere, "switching it off" or modifying the scale of the effect can be done almost instantly (you could remove the swarm by having it fall back to an Earth orbit).
As a layperson, it's just one more reason I so wish we'd invest in nuclear. Nuclear powered DAC plants might be the only way to scale it fast enough. Sure, it would still be expensive, but that's much cheaper than not massively reducing CO2 in the atmosphere.
Which is why keeping temperature down with SO2 during that time makes sense.
The mechanism is well known from volcanic eruptions, and it only lasts (from memory) 1-2 years in the stratosphere, so if something goes wrong, it can easily be tapered off.