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mk · 4700 days ago · link · · parent · post: Newly detected criegee Intermediates could clean up the atmosphere
If I'm not mistaken, they aren't cleaning up the atmosphere, but rather inducing cloud formation. The idea is that they could make it cloudier to cool the planet.
The researchers found that the Criegee biradicals react more rapidly than first thought and will accelerate the formation of sulphate and nitrate in the atmosphere. These compounds will lead to aerosol formation and ultimately to cloud formation with the potential to cool the planet. Personally, I think climate engineering is a bad idea, and a false choice in the climate change debate. Due to the complexity of the Earth's climate, and the complexity of relations of ecosystems to it, I think any major effort to shift the climate by artificial means will probably do as much harm as good. Any particles we add to the atmosphere in great quantities are bound to have effects beyond those that we intend.