Smog Cloud Silver Lining

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Sep 22, 2023

Hank Green, a passionate environmentalist and renowned science educator behind SciShow and Crash Course, discusses the alarming climate situations of summer 2023. He highlights how the reduction of sulfurous smog from cargo ships might have unexpectedly warmed ocean waters. Hank shares insights on balancing fear and hope in addressing climate change. He dives into the intriguing yet contentious topic of geoengineering, exploring its risks and ethical dilemmas while emphasizing the need for collective action amidst ongoing environmental challenges.

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ANECDOTE

Doomsday Preppers

Hank Green, during cancer treatment, encountered doomsday preppers online.
They fixated on a North Atlantic temperature spike chart, claiming imminent disaster.

INSIGHT

Unintended Consequences

UN regulations mandating cleaner ship fuel unintentionally increased ocean temperatures.
Removing sulfur dioxide from ship exhaust reduced cloud cover, increasing solar radiation absorption.

INSIGHT

Silver Lining

Hank Green views the unintended warming as an opportunity to study cloud formation's cooling effects.
He suggests exploring alternative methods for creating clouds without harmful byproducts.

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Summer 2023 was a pretty scary one for the planet. Global temperatures in June and July reached record highs. And over in the North Atlantic Sea, the water temperature spiked to off-the-chart levels. Some people figured that meant we were about to go over the edge, doomsday. In the face of this, Hank Green (a long time environmentalist and science educator behind SciShow, Crash Course, and more), took to social media to put things in context, to keep people focused on what we can do about climate change.

In the process, he came across a couple studies that suggested a reduction in sulfurous smog from cargo ships may have accidentally warmed the waters. And while Hank saw a silver lining around those smog clouds, the story he told—about smog clouds and cooling waters and the problem of geoengineering—took us on a rollercoaster ride of hope and terror. Ultimately, we had to wrestle with the question of what we should be doing about climate change, or what we should even talk about.Special thanks to Dr. Colin Carson and Avishay Artsy.

EPISODE CREDITS:

Reported by - Lulu Millerwith help from - Alyssa Jeong PerryProduction help from - Alyssa Jeong PerryOriginal music and sound design contributed by - Jeremy Bloomwith mixing help from - Jeremy BloomFact-checking by - Natalie Middletonand Edited by - N/A

CITATIONS:

Videos:

Sci Show (https://www.youtube.com/@SciShow)

Crash Course (https://www.youtube.com/crashcourse)

Articles:

The article Hank came across (https://zpr.io/zKYxWht3Nmy7)

Books:

Under a White Sky (https://zpr.io/zKYxWht3Nmy7): The Nature of the Future by Elizabeth Kolbert

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