Some of the More Radical Proposals to Address and Mitigate

question 22

Essay

Some of the more radical proposals to address and mitigate climate change involve geoengineering, which involves deliberately modifying Earth's climate. Evaluate how the actions listed would affect the global climate and global biogeochemical cycles by answering the questions that follow.
Option 1: Plant more trees.
Option 2: Build one or more giant reflective mirrors and send them into Earth's orbit.
Option 3: Fertilize ocean water with iron.
Option 4: Spray sulfuric acid as aerosol into the stratosphere.
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What effect would option 3 (fertilizing ocean with iron) have on the carbon cycle? What outcome would create the carbon sink? Based on its effect on the carbon cycle, how would you expect option 3 to impact the global climate? What additional abiotic factor might limit the effectiveness of this option, and why? How would this additional factor influence your decision on when to implement this option?

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Definitions:

Capital Assets

Long-term assets that are significant in value and are used in the operations of a business, not easily convertible to cash.

Balance Sheet

A financial statement that summarizes a company's assets, liabilities, and shareholders' equity at a specific point in time, providing a snapshot of its financial condition.

Donated Materials

Items or supplies given to an organization for free, often recognized as income at their fair value in the period received and reported in the financial statements.

Deferral Method

An accounting method where certain revenues or expenses are deferred on the balance sheet until they can be realized in the income statement.