- The FreightCaviar Newsletter
- Posts
- Surprise: Sulfur-Emitting Cargo Ships Fight Climate Change
Surprise: Sulfur-Emitting Cargo Ships Fight Climate Change
Photo by Christian Lue / Unsplash
Sulfur-emitting cargo ships might have been our inadvertent geoengineering heroes in an unexpected twist to the climate change narrative. As these ships release sulfur clouds, they act like gigantic sunshades, reflecting sunlight and cooling ocean waters. But a 2020 UN regulation resulted in 80% less sulfur emission, which some scientists believe led to the recent spike in Atlantic's summer temperatures. While these reflective clouds seem promising, some experts warn against deliberate cloud creation due to unpredictable consequences. The debate over geoengineering continues, with the White House exploring the pros and cons of this approach. Meanwhile, private companies experiment with sun-reflecting technologies, with European Astrotech even successfully delivering sun-blocking aerosols to the stratosphere.
Source: Morning Brew
pretty crazy:
- container ships burn fuels that emit a lot of sulfur
- the sulfur seeds clouds, increasing the reflectivity of earth, cooling it
- new climate rules in 2020 limit sulfur emissions by cargo ships
- a lack of ship-clouds may explain anomalous heating this year https://t.co/Z65WWL06l1— Max Hodak (@maxhodak_) August 4, 2023
Reply