Due to the current pace that the planet is warming and our continued inability to take this issue seriously and address it if we want to attempt a technological fix it needs to be done far sooner rather than later. According to the IPCC we are nearing a point of no return, “Human activities are estimated to have caused approximately 1.0°C of global warming above pre-industrial levels, with a likely range of 0.8°C to 1.2°C. Global warming is likely to reach 1.5°C between 2030 and 2052 if it continues to increase at the current rate.” (IPCC, 1) But the report does seem to leave some wiggle room with the wording of the prior statement. If we can somehow address what we are doing and limit the rate at which we are warming the earth there is still a chance to avoid the catastrophic warming of 2 degrees Celsius. The goal of these theoretical technological fixes need to address the rate at which we are warming the earth. This needs to be their primary focus. I think there can be a technological fix that can address these issues, but it needs to sweep the people of the world off their feet. It needs to be something that everyone can get behind and work towards. Because we are nearing a point of no return and without everyone being on board behind this potential fix, it can never work and we will hit that threshold of irreparable warming to the earth.
I think we are far beyond the point of not believing in climate science. This report put out by the IPCC is more than credible enough. It states that it was put together by “91 authors from 44 citenzenships.” (Facsimile, 3) I think having a report like this backed by so many people around the world should be a wake up call to the people that still don’t believe in it. This report is also letting us know that we are extremely close to the point of no return. If we don’t address these issues almost immediately it will be too late. People need to realize that this is real and it is no joke. These reports should serve as the wake up call that people need. If they don’t then I’m not quite sure what else people need to trust and believe that this is happening.
I think at this point; the rate does need to be the primary focus if we are not willing to completely change our ways ASAP. If there were to be a techno-fix worldwide that would change the current way of excavating resources and the way we use them, and I agree that it would need to be something that we can all get behind and work on. That’s where politics comes in, and is unfortunately the dread to the case of climate change. We have governments like the US whose current administration finally agreed this is an issue and it’s real, but do not want to invest the money into mass renewable energy or clean ups. I think it will take too much time than we’re given to really make an impact before it’s too late.
We definitely are far beyond the point of not believing in climate science, but that is just our opinions. There will always be citizens of the world that are into denialism, or carry a much too optimistic view on the planet and its natural capacities. Remember, climate science has been around for a very long time, and the IPCC releases these reports every so often; this one specifically stands out because there’s predetermined, scary data on years that we will physically see change, catastrophic change. People denied these publications before, and there’s no doubt they will continue.