[Rubinsalamander]

Rises the question which temperature is the "right" one. Assuming we can control climate change at some point in the future

Like having a clima-council which votes to lower or rise the temperature. Would definetly cause conflicts between very hot and cold nations

[api_or_ipa]

The economic consequences would be absolutely huge. Take my native Canada for an example. There's breathtaking amounts of land that's currently of little economic value because of a shortened growing season and permafrost. A small increase in temperature would have a huge impact on the usability of that land. Conversely, other places in the world would suffer desertification and suffer greatly.

As an amusing side-note I've pondered whether colder countries could/should/will intentionally spew C02 into the atmosphere to improve their own living situation. There's not a whole lot other countries could do about it except try and capture the C02 which is much more expensive than burning it. Obviously this doesn't take in effect other averse consequences from global warming but it was still an amusing train of thought.

[baxtr]

BTW: it is CO2 not C02... (sorry)

[api_or_ipa]

Sorry that was me being lazy. On my dovark keyboard. C,0,2 are all right next to each other on my right hand and since numbers are behind the shift key, my left hand just holds the shift down. The alternative is a bit of a finger juggle because my caps lock is remapped as well.

[bryanlarsen]

There's a very large band for the "right" temperature. The problem is the rate of change. Given enough time, the ecosystem will adapt.

[Rubinsalamander]

That large band exists only for mediterran regions. Some regions are already living on the hot/cold edge

[dalbasal]

The band of "habitable by humans" is as wide as you could want. People live in Alaska and in Libya.

The problem is that stuff is adapted to the way things are. Alaskan trees, bugs, mail services and whatnot are all adapted to snow and ice and such. Bugs go dormant, mailmen hibernate. Libyan mailmen would freeze to death is they got Alaskan weather. Alaskan trees would die if they got Libyan weather. Crops would fail, etc.

[Terr_]

> Bugs go dormant, mailmen hibernate.

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

[fifnir]

Imagine the entire planet fighting for the thermostat

[dalbasal]

This is not impossible.

There are a bunch bunch of ideas for how to build a "thermostat." Some of them might be affordable for even a mid sized economy. We could find ourselves in a world where 26 different countries have competing climate control agendas and toolkits. Presumably Vanuatu has a different take that Latvia.

Perhaps this will be the 22nd century's alternative to resource wars.

[credit_guy]

“Give me a half tanker of iron, and I will give you an ice age.” - John Martin

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Martin_(oceanographer)

[gaius]

What’s the downside to that strategy? It seems like a no-brainer at first glance

[gpm]

I think the main downside is that we are quite sure what would happen. The primary effect (a giant fucking algae bloom) is pretty well known. But the secondary effects are hard to predict and could be very negative.

Running experiments on the planet we live on is usually frowned upon.

[SketchySeaBeast]

> Running experiments on the planet we live on is usually frowned upon.

You don't like to test in PROD?

[wereHamster]

> Running experiments on the planet we live on is usually frowned upon.

We are in a big fucking experiment right now: what happens if we release fucktons of CO2 into the atmosphere? Most of the developed world doesn't give a fuck.

[black6]

> Running experiments on the planet we live on is usually frowned upon.

Without another Earth to act as a control group, you could say experimenting is technically impossible.

[credit_guy]

Indeed, and you don't need to start with a half-tanker, especially if you are not aiming for an ice age. You can start with a half-bucket and work your way up to a half-kayak, half-fishing-boat, maybe half-trawler.

Oh, wait. Some guy did just that in 2012 [1]. Some people claim it was an absolute success, while some others claim that more studies are needed (but they are not willing to fund them!), or we should not play with the only planet we have, etc, etc.

[1] https://planetsave.com/2014/07/02/ocean-fertilization-danger...

[Rubinsalamander]

Guess they would have to scatter the metal so that the algae have more iron surface area. Would make it hard to remove if it turns out bad

[coldtea]

That we barely know enough about how our changes will affect the ecosystem at large, and can get feedback loops that get out of control.

[dalbasal]

Erm... Isn't the downside that op will give us an ice age of empires unpredictable severity and duration?

[jandrese]

IIRC it was tested on a small scale and didn't work. Fish ate the algae before it could settle on the sea floor.

[moultano]

I know settling to the sea floor is the intended result, but locking up more carbon in the steady state biomass of creatures would do the trick too. If we did this continuously could we just grow the biosphere?

[fiter]

It may vary with scale. Similar to how swarming populations (cicadas) can saturate the local predators.

[gameswithgo]

too many whales!

[BurningFrog]

Vanuatu is 270k people. They can be bought off in any deal.