
Iron particles are falling into the seas in greater quantities than thought - curtis
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/humans-may-be-accidentally-geoengineering-the-oceans/
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londons_explore
Is there any information on the source of these iron particles?

I know brake dust is iron-rich, but I find it hard to believe there is enough
brake dust in the world to have a serious impact.

Most other machines aim not to create iron dust (that would be a sign the
machine is wearing out), and new harder bearing surfaces should produce
practically zero particulates.

Are there perhaps small amounts of iron in coal?

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iicc
> Iron input from anthropogenic sources, like the burning of fossil fuels and
> other industrial activities....

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abeppu
> Now, the new study would seem to suggest that humans may already be engaging
> in a kind of inadvertent iron fertilization campaign. But whether it’s
> having any significant effect on marine ecosystems or carbon storage is
> still unknown.

But, since we know we're increasing atmospheric carbon, we do know that any
increased carbon storage stemming from this accidental fertilization effect is
dwarfed by our carbon output elsewhere, right? To the degree that carbon and
aerosol iron are released from an overlapping set of activities, perhaps this
study reveals a modest change in the coefficient relating emitted carbon to
atmospheric carbon.

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m3nu
Most technologies have some side-effects. Burning hydrocarbons for energy,
social media networks, antibiotics, you name it.

While we reap the rewards, we also need to keep innovating to counter-act the
side-effects. The worrying thing is only that it happens on a planetary scale
now. So there is less room for error and no backup (for now).

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larrybolt
With all the recent articles about sand running out (from rivers),
microplastics, global warming, bugs dying... it sounds like we're screwing the
earth big time. While I'm not the person who cares enough to completely change
my life style, I'm getting worried. I wonder whether this is just me, I hope
not, but then again it also feels like the industry in general still doesn't
care enough.

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Ixiaus
You don't have to completely change your lifestyle to make beneficial
improvements to your life and community. We often make the mistake of thinking
that a strong signal will have more impact than frequent and consistent weak
signals.

If you make small and totally doable changes here and there, they will
accumulate and have an impact, especially if more people in the community
begin adding their own weak signals. No one weak signal on its own will have
the ability to change the dire course we find ourselves on but it needs to
start with taking _some_ personal responsibility.

A few, small and easy changes I've made that help: I signed up for my electric
utility's green option (they offset 100% of my usage by buying from a windfarm
here in Texas), we went from a two-car family to a one-car family, we switched
to a hybrid, I moved to remote work instead of commuting, and I use the bus
system as often as I can.

Those changes all happened over the course of the last three years and many
other lifestyle changes. The biggest change I've made was focusing on
financial independence which helped me move from profligate consumption to
saving the majority of my income.

If you feel worried, the best thing you can do is make small, meaningful
changes because it will help you feel empowered which wards off despair.

The situation certainly feels pretty dire but I think we can solve it, it just
requires the accumulation of weak signals.

