It seems that by 2100, if the stated effects (which are certainly at the high end of what's realistic), it ought to be relatively easy to do some large-scale engineering to mitigate them. Either dig some new seas to soak up the water (Australia could use its own Mediterranean) or put mirrors in orbit to cool the planet.
Yes, large scale terraforming is both simple to understand, easy to do, and poses no political difficulties at all! I can't imagine what could possibly go wrong.
I mean, you realize that even if we could put giant space mirrors in orbit, it wouldn't solve all the biggest climate change problems, right? Reducing the amount of sunlight that reaches the Earth's surface does nothing to reduce the amount of CO2 in the oceans, which means we might still devastate the ability of a few billion people to get sufficient protein to survive.
erm... there's more issues than just the sea level rise. If it was that simple, we'd already have a plan. The overwhelming parts are the widespread destruction and depletion of usable farmland, ocean acidification & oxygen depletion, water scarcity, jumps in disease vectors, and the increased use of energy-intensive technology to mitigate the effects of climate change which in turn creates a vicious cycle.
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It seems that by 2100, if the stated effects (which are certainly at the high end of what's realistic), it ought to be relatively easy to do some large-scale engineering to mitigate them. Either dig some new seas to soak up the water (Australia could use its own Mediterranean) or put mirrors in orbit to cool the planet.
Yes, large scale terraforming is both simple to understand, easy to do, and poses no political difficulties at all! I can't imagine what could possibly go wrong.
I mean, you realize that even if we could put giant space mirrors in orbit, it wouldn't solve all the biggest climate change problems, right? Reducing the amount of sunlight that reaches the Earth's surface does nothing to reduce the amount of CO2 in the oceans, which means we might still devastate the ability of a few billion people to get sufficient protein to survive.
erm... there's more issues than just the sea level rise. If it was that simple, we'd already have a plan. The overwhelming parts are the widespread destruction and depletion of usable farmland, ocean acidification & oxygen depletion, water scarcity, jumps in disease vectors, and the increased use of energy-intensive technology to mitigate the effects of climate change which in turn creates a vicious cycle.