The climate crisis: Can smart ideas save the planet? | DW Documentary

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Published 2023-06-13
Can high-tech solutions help protect the climate? What would be the side effects of further human intervention in nature?

Attempts are being made to reduce the CO2 in the atmosphere with technical solutions. For example, new carbon capture technology that can extract CO2 from air and water, even if the amount currently captured is minimal and not enough to prevent the climate crisis and its consequences.
Still, there is no shortage of ideas. Adding basalt rock dust to agricultural fields not only binds carbon dioxide but keeps the soil fertile. Biochar, made from organic waste, has a similar effect.
Some ideas are bolder: A protective screen of particles in the upper layers of the atmosphere could filter sunlight, as seen with the eruption of the Pinatubo volcano in the Philippines in 1991. The millions of tons of sulfur dioxide spewed into the stratosphere cooled the earth significantly.
Theoretically, aircraft could be used to deliver the particles. But experts warn that the consequences for humans and the weather would be felt worldwide and could never be fully controlled.


#documentary #dwdocumentary #climatechange
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All Comments (21)
  • we've knowned about climate change for decades at this point. What we must do is reduce consumption and yet it increases each year.
  • @gregnulik1975
    Green fencing with real leaves , in cities , could be an easy way to lower temperatures. And they don't need much space , being mostly vertical.
  • @arbaz79
    DW's documentary series regarding climate change is commendable👏.
  • @stevenbeshel7369
    We need less cars, less cruise ships, less chemical plants, and less private jets. We need more walkable cities, more trees, and more white(reflective surfaces)
  • @spidey885
    God, i love this channel. more please
  • @MotoRide.
    Or how about we plant some more trees? ..oh wait. That doesn't make anyone obscenely rich.
  • @GTN3
    I wish we had an automotive cabin air filter and engine air filter that could sequester carbon. The total accumulated volume of air processed through vehicles could be substantial.
  • Our most advanced technology is the human mind. We should be doing less, learning how to control our destructive desires, and restructuring everything to promote ecosystem health.
  • Australia is helping by opening new coalmines and gas fields. Kudos Tanya Pliversek!
  • @ammini999
    Out of all these amazing technology, we need to plant more trees all around the world and reduce the emissions, as soon as we can.
  • Also carbon is a good building material, burying it seems wasteful and ironic considering we use too much cement that releases carbon into the atmosphere.
  • @higon99
    DW needs to report how much CO2 these guys are reducing. They are very neat tech, but quantitatively isn't it just a drop in the ocean? Nothing will get better with these effort sadly.
  • Thank you for sharing these worthy initiatives. Climate change is a collective issue. Nature is intrinsically connected. Humankind cannot survive as a bunch of 7 or 8 billion individuals. We can only survive interdependently. Now we need some 4 billion people like you to take actions that would enable nature to start recovering. What we need is a persuasive and convincing consumption alternative. The one common incentive that I could think of is money. Virtually every person on this planet would be willing to adopt change if they get money for it. And all over the world money is governed by administrations. If we could persuade a sufficient number of administrations to agree on ways to compensate people for their change of consumption of products energized by fossil fuel, to products created by alternative energy sources, with money, we could reverse the climate digression. I am hopeful. Alex Goslar
  • @stoicepictetus3875
    Thank you for this interesting and very important documentary. Let's all work together to save the climate !
  • The proposal for sulfur powder shielding has the obvious drawbacks of the potential for fallow farming or lower evaporation. The problems faced have emerged from chronically elevated CO2 concentrations. Perhaps other measures should be approached.
  • Excellent, you guys are doing extraordinary activities and allowing us to see a more hopeful view of the world and ecosystems.
  • @cheweperro
    There can be no solutions without, at the same time, a lowering of energy and material consumption