Technological fixes such as solar geo-engineering, solar and wind power, and carbon capture can help address rising temperatures. Carbon capture traps emissions from power plants and removes them from the atmosphere, solar and wind power help replace the use of coal as a form of energy, and solar geo-engineering includes blasting sulfate aerosols into the stratosphere to reflect sunlight away from the Earth. The IPCC discusses the ramifications of global warming and that these temperature changes will lead to catastrophic environmental changes by 2040. Socio-technological fixes are addressing this issue and while they may be employed within the time frame, there is no guarantee that they will be effective. Experts have said that technology can’t be solely trusted to reverse greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate contrarians will often say that climate science is still in its infancy and too young to be reliable. I don’t believe that this statement is true since we are currently seeing the effects of global warming and rising temperatures. After reading Reidy’s work, it is apparent that the statement isn’t true because Tyndall, in the 1860s announced that, “any changes to the constitution of the atmosphere would produce great effects on the terrestrial rays and produce corresponding changes of climate…” While, it may still be young compared to other issues, I don’t believe that climate change and rising temperatures is too young to be reliable based on the evidence that we are currently seeing and studies from the past.