Jim Hansen endorses atmospheric aerosol intervention.

[H simmens]

An important article documenting the impact of aerosols was published in Science earlier this week. The very last paragraph is quoted below. I am not aware that Jim Hansen has publicly endorsed the use of aerosols in the atmosphere before. 

Am I correct that it is hard to overestimate the impact of this statement on the credibility of those of us arguing for urgent direct cooling/sunlight reflection? 

Herb

“But with Earth having warmed by some 1.2°C since preindustrial times, Hansen thinks there’s little hope of cutting emissions fast enough to meet the 1.5°C target he and other scientists have called for. And so the solution, he says, could come back to aerosols, this time ones spread deliberately through solar geoengineering—the controversial idea of lofting sulfate particles into the stratosphere and creating a global, reflective haze. “It will be necessary to take temporary corrective measures,” he says, “almost surely including temporary purposeful use of aerosols to avoid catastrophic implications.”

https://www.science.org/content/article/paradox-cleaner-air-now-adding-global-warming

Herb Simmens

Author A Climate Vocabulary of the Future

@herbsimmens