Geoengineering is a term that describes the use of technologies to manipulate the environment of the Earth in order to combat climate change. There are two types of geoengineering: “mitigation” geoengineering, which focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and “adaptation” geoengineering, which focuses on adapting to the effects of climate change.
There are several methods of geoengineering :
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Carbon sequestration: This involves capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by factories and power plants and then burying it in geological reservoirs.
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Albedo modification: This involves reflecting more sunlight to reduce global temperature by using methods such as the use of space reflectors.
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Forest regeneration: This involves planting trees to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
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Phyto-extraction: This involves growing plants that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and then using them to produce biofuels.
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Using green fertilizers to increase plant growth to increase the amount of carbon stored in soils.
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Modifying oceans to increase carbon storage capacity or to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
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Modifying ocean currents to reduce global temperature or to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The potential benefits of geoengineering include:
- Reducing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere by removing CO2
- Mitigating the effects of climate change, such as reducing global temperature or modifying precipitation.
- Slowing the pace of climate warming by reducing the amount of sunlight that reaches the Earth’s surface
- Increasing carbon storage capacity by storing carbon in geological reservoirs, which can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase carbon storage capacity.
