You are reading the article Eu’s Article 13 Copyright Protection Proposal: Should We Panic? updated in December 2023 on the website Hatcungthantuong.com. We hope that the information we have shared is helpful to you. If you find the content interesting and meaningful, please share it with your friends and continue to follow and support us for the latest updates. Suggested January 2024 Eu’s Article 13 Copyright Protection Proposal: Should We Panic?
The continued pursual of this legislation has even alarmed copyright holders themselves, whom the proposal purportedly benefits. Soon after, panic set in as people said that this legislation would “destroy the I nternet.” This looks like something that needs to be clarified.
What’s Article 13?Article 13, known officially as the European Commission Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on Copyright in The Digital Single Market, is a proposal that wishes to address some of the shortcomings of current copyright law as far as the Internet is concerned.
This is somewhat similar to China’s great firewall, which filters the information that reaches the mainland from websites that the central government does not approve of. This is not an exaggeration, as even member states such as Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, and the Netherlands have raised questions about the proposal’s possible infringement against the EU’s Charter of Human Rights.
The basic idea of the legislation is to allow copyright holders to get paid for their work, requiring content providers to monitor their users for any potential infringements and making them tell infringing users to get a license prior to uploading their content. This also ventures into the realm of sharing this content online via social media.
Enforcing these measures would require a complete overhaul of the entire infrastructure of Europe’s Internet.
Is It Destroying the Internet?By definition, you can’t simply just “destroy” the Internet. If the measure passes, it wouldn’t be the end of the world, but the Internet as you know it in Europe would be much more difficult to maintain. We would certainly see some ISPs acquired by larger competitors and a large amount of consolidation around companies that can adapt to the legislation.
From the consumer’s perspective, we have the word of the European Consumer Organization (BEUC) which says that “the [proposal] does not address […] consumer concerns as it fails to provide a balanced copyright system where all different actors involved could benefit from it fairly.”
That said, Article 13 would be the most ambitious legislative agenda from the EU on the Internet, beating the GDPR that entered into effect on May 25, 2023.
What If It Passes?If you live outside the European Union, there’s not much you should do. ISPs will continue to behave the same way they do right now.
This would essentially encrypt your connection so that your content wouldn’t be filtered, giving you more freedom. With AdvOR, you could even “hook” it to other applications and force them to use the Tor network even if they don’t allow it. In addition to this, you could specifically select nodes from countries outside the EU (such as the United States) to relay your data through. There are, so far, no legal provisions in the European Union against circumventing your ISP in this fashion.
Miguel Leiva-Gomez
Miguel has been a business growth and technology expert for more than a decade and has written software for even longer. From his little castle in Romania, he presents cold and analytical perspectives to things that affect the tech world.
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You're reading Eu’s Article 13 Copyright Protection Proposal: Should We Panic?
Apple Iphone 13 Vs Older Iphones: Should You Upgrade?
Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority
The iPhone 13 series might have been superseded by the iPhone 14 series, but two of the phones are still sold by Apple, and two others are readily available at resellers. That means prices are lower than ever, but are they worth the upgrade if you’re still holding on to an older iPhone? Let’s find out in this iPhone 13 vs older iPhones comparison!
For even more info, check out our full guide to deciding which iPhone to buy.
iPhone 13 vs iPhone 12
David Imel / Android Authority
If you have a phone from the iPhone 12 series, the iPhone 13 series will look very familiar. It was the first series to introduce the Mini, which offered users a manageable size and, more importantly, a more affordable option. Apple kept this strategy for the iPhone 13 series, with few major changes across the board.
In fact, the iPhone 13 series is quite an iterative update and not that different from the iPhone 12. You may not even be able to tell the phones apart if laid on a table in front of you. However, there are a few notable upgrades that might tempt you to get the new phone.
iPhone 13 vs iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR
The iPhone XS and XS Max brought many of the changes from the previous iPhone X to the mainstream. Although the naming practice was dropped after this lineup, the S-editions were an iterative update of the previous models. It packed the latest processor, the A12 Bionic, upped the RAM, and introduced a higher 512GB storage option. The XS Max had the same hardware as its smaller sibling. Giving it its name was the huge 6.5-inch display, the first from Apple to cross the 6-inch threshold. It also had a larger battery as well and provided better battery life.
Because of the burgeoning prices of the flagship range, Apple also introduced the iPhone XR. It offered flagship performance, and there were plenty of colorful options to choose from. However, the build quality and camera setup weren’t as good as the higher-end models, which allowed Apple to keep the price relatively low. The approach differs from modern phones like the iPhone SE or iPhone 13 Mini, however, because the phone was between the XS and XS Max in size.
The iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR are four years old at this point, but some users on a budget might want to hold on to them for a little longer. The good news is that you won’t miss out on any iOS 16 features with these devices, as they are both powered by Apple’s A12. This SoC, combined with as much as 4GB of RAM, should keep things running smoothly as well.
Of course, the iPhone 13 series is better across all aspects and definitely a worthy upgrade. But if you’re curious about the rumored big things Apple has in store for its 2023 flagships, there’s no reason why you couldn’t keep the XS series running for another year.
iPhone 13 vs iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and older
If you still have the iPhone 8 series or an even older Apple phone, it’s probably time for an upgrade. The five-year-old iPhone 8 and 8 Plus were the last Apple flagships to feature the classic iPhone design with large bezels and the Touch ID fingerprint scanner. The 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch displays of the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus are tiny by today’s standards, with the iPhone 13 Mini being the best option if you’re hoping to maintain the same overall footprint. Unfortunately, the smaller Mini design was dropped for the iPhone 14 lineup, although the iPhone 13 Mini is still available.
You’ll get much better performance with the new phones. The displays are far improved, particularly if you splurge on the iPhone 13 Pro models that feature a 120Hz refresh rate. And while the iPhone 8 cameras were excellent for their time, you’re missing all the latest hardware and software features available on the newer phones. You also don’t get 5G support.
It’s no surprise that the iPhone 13 series is better than the iPhone 8 lineup in every way.
The one thing you don’t have to worry about is the software package itself. Every iPhone going back to the iPhone 6S series is eligible for an upgrade to iOS 15 and most of its new features, except those that rely on hardware. However, while Apple does a great job optimizing its software for older phones, you will absolutely see some sluggishness with the iPhone 8’s A11 Bionic processor and 3GB of RAM. iOS 16, on the other hand, is compatible with phones as old as the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.
It’s not surprising that the iPhone 13 series is better than the iPhone 8 lineup and older iPhones in every way. If you’re looking to upgrade, now is a great time to do so, as prices are lower than ever.
Iphone 13 Pro Vs Iphone 12 Pro: Should You Upgrade?
Apple unveiled the iPhone 13 series at its September launch event, and we now know the specifications, pricing, and availability of the next-gen iPhones. Today, we will be comparing the iPhone 13 Pro against the Pro models of last year’s iPhone 12 lineup. If you currently own an iPhone 12 Pro, we have also discussed if an upgrade to iPhone 13 Pro lineup is worth it or not. So without any further ado, read our iPhone 13 Pro vs iPhone 12 Pro comparison on the basis of display, performance, cameras, and more.
iPhone 13 Pro vs iPhone 12 Pro: In-Depth Comparison (2023) Design and DisplayIf you couldn’t visually differentiate new iPhones due to the similar notch design so far, this year’s iPhone changes that. While the iPhone 13 Pro models do not feature punch hole camera cutouts that are rumored to arrive with iPhone 14, you get a smaller notch. According to Apple, the notch on iPhone 13 models is 20 percent smaller than their predecessors. You still get Ceramic Shield protection at the front and a surgical-grade stainless steel frame.
Before we get to the display, it’s worth mentioning that the new iPhone 13 Pro models are slightly heavier than last year’s iPhone 12 Pro models. Compared to the 6.66 ounces (189 grams) weight of the iPhone 12 Pro and 8.03 ounces (228 grams) for the 12 Pro Max, the new iPhone 13 Pro weighs 7.19 ounces (204 grams) and 13 Pro Max weighs 8.46 ounces (240 grams). You are likely to notice the weight difference in the iPhone 13 Pro Max model.
The display size of the new iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max remains unchanged. The iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max have the same 6.1-inch and 6.7-inch display sizes, respectively. However, what’s different here is the presence of ProMotion technology, Apple’s term for adaptive refresh rate. The Super Retina XDR display on iPhone 13 Pro lineup offers up to 120Hz refresh rate. With these new iPhones, Apple has officially entered the league of smartphones with high refresh rate displays. It’s also worth mentioning that the Pro lineup offers 1200 nits of peak brightness, up from the 800 nits on the iPhone 12 Pro series.
iPhone 13 Pro vs iPhone 12 Pro: PerformanceA15 Bionic features 15 billion transistors, as opposed to 11.8 billion on the A14 Bionic. A15 Bionic uses the 5nm fabrication process like the A14 Bionic, but will utilize TSMC’s improved N5P node. While Apple doesn’t directly compare A15 Bionic to A14 Bionic, the company says the chipset is up to 50 percent faster than the competition. And oh, both the iPhone 13 Pro and 12 Pro support 5G connectivity.
CameraIn terms of optics, iPhone 13 Pro uses a 12MP triple camera system with an f/1.5 wide-angle camera, an f/2.8 telephoto lens, and an ultra-wide lens with an f/1.8 aperture. That’s an improvement over the f/1.6 wide, f/2.8 telephoto, and f/2.4 ultra-wide sensors in the 12 Pro. Apple says the larger aperture will help the iPhone 13 Pro models shoot better images in low-light conditions.
The optical zoom range in the iPhone 13 Pro series is 6x — 3x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out, and up to 15x digital zoom. To recall, iPhone 12 Pro offers a 4x optical zoom range (2x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out) and up to 10x digital zoom. Last year’s 12 Pro Max is capable of 5x optical zoom range (2.5x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out) and up to 12x digital zoom. You also get sensor-shift optical image stabilization across iPhone 13 Pro series, unlike the iPhone 12 Pro series where it was limited to the Pro Max model.
The f/1.8 aperture ultra-wide lens in the iPhone 13 Pro lineup offers autofocus, which should come in handy for macro photography (up to 2cm from the subject). Other new camera features in the iPhone 13 Pro includes Photographic Styles, Night mode in telephoto lens, Night mode portraits, Cinematic mode, and ProRes videos.
Image courtesy: Apple
The support for ProRes codec, on the other hand, is coming to iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max in a future iOS 15 update. It supports up to 4K at 30 fps. However, do keep in mind that you will be limited to 1080p at 30fps in the base 128GB storage variant.
BatteryApple promises up to 22 hours of video playback (up to 20 hours of streaming) and up to 75 hours of audio playback on the iPhone 13 Pro. That’s noticeably better than the promised 17 hours of video playback (up to 11 hours of streaming) and up to 65 hours of audio playback on the 12 Pro.
As far as Pro Max models are concerned, the promised times are up to 28 hours, 25 hours, and 95 hours for the 13 Pro Max, and 20 hours, 12 hours, and 80 hours for 12 Pro Max when it comes to video playback, streaming, and audio playback respectively. On stage at the event, Apple claimed that iPhone 13 Pro offers 1.5 hours of extra battery backup over the iPhone 12 Pro. The 13 Pro Max, on the other hand, offers 2.5 hours more battery life than its predecessor, which is amazing!
PriceHaving said all that, the iPhone 13 Pro starts at $999 and Pro Max is available at a starting price of $1099. Check out the exact prices below:
128 GB iPhone 13 Pro – $999 (Rs. 1,19,900 in India)
256 GB iPhone 13 Pro – $1,099 (Rs. 1,29,900 in India)
512 GB iPhone 13 Pro – $1,299 (Rs. 1,49,900 in India)
1 TB iPhone 13 Pro – $1,499 (Rs. 1,69,900 in India)
128 GB iPhone 13 Pro Max – $1,099 (Rs. 1,29,900 in India)
256 GB iPhone 13 Pro Max – $1,199(Rs. 1,39,900 in India)
512 GB iPhone 13 Pro Max – $1,399 (Rs. 1,59,900 in India)
1 TB iPhone 13 Pro Max– $1,599 (Rs. 1,79,900 in India)
iPhone 13 Pro vs iPhone 12 Pro: Specifications ComparisonSpecsiPhone 12 ProiPhone 13 ProiPhone 12 Pro MaxiPhone 13 Pro MaxDimensions5.78 inches (146.7 mm) x 2.82 inches (71.5 mm) x 0.29 inch (7.4 mm)5.78 inches (146.7 mm) x 2.82 inches (71.5 mm) x 0.30 inch (7.65 mm)6.33 inches (160.8 mm) x 3.07 inches (78.1 mm) x 0.29 inch (7.4 mm) 6.33 inches (160.8 mm) x 3.07 inches (78.1 mm) x 0.30 inch (7.65 mm) Weight6.66 ounces (189 grams)7.19 ounces (204 grams)8.03 ounces (228 grams)8.46 ounces (240 grams)Display6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display with up to 120Hz ProMotion6.7-inch Super Retina XDR display6.7-inch Super Retina XDR display with up to 120Hz ProMotionProcessorA14 Bionic (6-core 5nm CPU)A15 Bionic (6-core 5nm CPU)A14 Bionic (6-core 5nm CPU)A15 Bionic (6-core 5nm CPU)GPU4-core GPU5-core GPU 4-core GPU 5-core GPU Internal Storage128GB, 256GB, 512GB128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB 128GB, 256GB, 512GB 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB Rear Cameras12MP f/2.0 telephoto + 12MP f/1.6 wide + 12MP f/2.4 ultra wide12MP f/2.8 telephoto + 12MP f/1.5 wide + 12MP f/1.8 ultra wide12MP f/2.2 telephoto + 12MP f/1.6 wide + 12MP f/2.4 ultra wide12MP f/2.8 telephoto + 12MP f/1.5 wide + 12MP f/1.8 ultra wideFront Camera12MP f/2.212MP f/2.2 with Photographic Styles, Cinematic mode, ProRes video 12MP f/2.2 12MP f/2.2 with Photographic Styles, Cinematic mode, ProRes videoColorsPacific Blue, Silver, Gold, and GraphiteSierra Blue, Silver, Gold, and GraphitePacific Blue, Silver, Gold, and GraphiteSierra Blue, Silver, Gold, and GraphiteOperating SystemiOS 14 (upgradable to iOS 15)iOS 15iOS 14 (upgradable to iOS 15)iOS 15
Choose the Right iPhone 13 Pro Model For You!It’s evident that this year’s iPhone 13 Pro series focuses on bringing incremental upgrades vs last year’s iPhone 12 Pro lineup rather than flashy new features. However, Apple playing it safe also means that there’s not a lot of reasons to upgrade to the newest iPhone. Sure, the ProMotion display is tempting, but iOS already offers a smooth experience with fluid animations, even on 60Hz displays.
13 Cool Samsung One Ui Features You Should Know About
At its fifth annual Developer Conference held in San Francisco in the first week of November, Samsung unveiled a complete UI overhaul for its smartphones. Dubbed as One UI, the new Android skin from Samsung will be replacing its outgoing Experience UI. We have installed the beta version of One UI on our Galaxy Note 9 and our initial impression has been nothing but positive. The new skin is bringing a lot of positive changes over Experience UI and makes the software feel fresher and lighter. So, if you are debating whether Samsung’s new UI will be good for you or not, here are the 13 cool One UI features that will help you understand what this new Android skin has to offer you:
Best Samsung One UI Features 1. Improved One-Handed UsabilityWith One UI, Samsung is hoping to tackle the biggest problem that is associated with the ever-increasing smartphone sizes, the one-handed usability of the phone. The new UI introduces a fresh look which makes the phone really easy to interact with using only one hand. Basically, the new UI brings a large viewing area at the top and an interaction area on the bottom half. This has been implemented throughout the native apps. So now, users will be able to interact with the topmost controls with ease.
The best part is that the viewing area disappears once you scroll down the app which basically means that you are not losing any screen real-estate. I also love the fact that Samsung has shifted the interactive buttons from the top to the bottom, which makes it very easy to interact with them using just one hand. Overall, the new UI is very friendly for one-handed use and I love it.
2. Navigation Gestures 3. Adoptable StorageOne of the biggest improvements coming with One UI is a feature called Adoptable Storage. The feature basically allows you to use a microSD card as extended phone memory. What this means is that the SD card won’t be treated as an additional memory rather it will be read as the internal memory of the phone. This will allow users to install apps and games on the SD card without any problem. This will be a huge improvement for SD card users. That said, the feature was not working during the beta and we will have to wait for future versions of the skin to see if it works properly or not. It’s still a pretty great feature and one we can’t wait to test out.
4. New Icons and Design ElementsOne UI is also bringing a huge overhaul to the overall looks of the UI. Firstly, there are new icons which are way flatter and normal. While the icons still possess a squircle shape and look a bit cartoonish, the new icons are way better than the previous Experience UI icons. It is also inspired by the hardware design of the company’s flagship smartphones which means you will see a lot of rounded edges all through the user interface. Most of the times these rounded edges look quite cool, however, there are some places where they seem a little overkill. One such place is the Bixby screen which I really don’t like. Apart from these small hiccups, I think Samsung has done a great job with design here.
5. Dark Mode 6. Recycle Bin in GalleryOne of my favorite features of Google Photos is its trash functionality which keeps the deleted photos saved for a certain period of time. I have accidentally deleted many photos and if not for the Trash feature of Google Photos, I would have lost many important photos. With One UI, the same feature is coming to Samsung’s native Gallery app. The feature is called Recycle Bin and it basically saves all your deleted photos for 15 days before permanently deleting them. So, if you happen to delete a photo by mistake, you can easily reclaim it.
7. Lift to WakeI am still not sure how Samsung took such a long time to introduce this nifty feature but finally it has. Dubbed as the “Lift to Wake” feature (commonly known as raise to wake on other devices), the feature automatically wakes up your screen when you lift to look at it. The feature is even more helpful if you use Samsung’s iris scanner as it allows the system to start scanning even before the screen was turned on, making things super fast.
8. Battery Optimization SettingsSamsung is introducing a new “Optimize Settings” option in One UI ‘s battery settings, which when enabled will automatically reset the brightness, screen timeout, and media volume at midnight to save battery. So, if you tend to keep everything turned on to the max during the day, it’s great to have all these settings automatically be reset to lower levels to save battery on your phone.
9. Smart OrientationOne UI is based on top of Android Pie, so there are many Android Pie features that are integrated right into the skin. One of my favorites is the smart orientation lock feature which gives you a small button at the bottom whenever you try to change the orientation while having the auto-rotate setting off. This makes it very easy to adjust the orientation without having to open the quick settings panel.
10. New Keyboard Features 11. New Camera FeaturesThe camera app has gone through an overhaul as well. Depending on your preferences you might love or hate the new camera UI. I personally find it more user-friendly and hence love the new user interface. Apart from the new looks, the camera app brings support for HEIF file format. Plus, there’s also a setting which when turned on starts the camera on the last that mode you were using which is definitely really handy.
12. New Animations and Animation ControlOne UI also introduces new and refined animations throughout the user interface. The animations to close apps to go home, launch the multi-task menu, drop down the quick settings panel, etc feel more responsive and elegant. I especially love the new screenshot animation as it looks pretty sweet. If you don’t want to deal with animations, there’s also a built-in setting which reduces animations all over the UI. While it doesn’t totally remove the animations, it does tone them down.
13. New Clock DesignsWhile this is not a big feature, I love the new clock designs so much that I had to include this on this list. As the title suggests, there are a number of new clock designs in One UI which are both informative and beautiful. I think most Samsung users will enjoy these new clock designs.
SEE ALSO: 22 New Android P Features You Should Know
The Features That Make Samsung One UI Worth Installing
How To Cite A Wikipedia Article
Wikipedia is a useful source of background information that students often use in the early stages of research. However, it’s often not considered a reliable source to cite in your academic writing.
If you’re certain you’re allowed to cite Wikipedia, the citation usually includes:
Title of the article
“Wikipedia” and/or “Wikimedia Foundation”
Date the article was last updated
URL
The specific format differs depending on what citation style you’re following: APA, MLA, and Chicago style are three of the most commonly used.
Generate accurate citations with Scribbr How to cite Wikipedia in APA StyleIn APA Style (7th edition), only the first word of the title is capitalized, and there is no period after the URL. The in-text citation includes the title of the article (with title-case capitalization, and shortened if necessary) and the year.
Example: APA Wikipedia citation
APA format
Article title
. (
Year
,
Month Day
). In Wikipedia.
URL
APA in-text citation (“Statistical Hypothesis Testing,” 2023)
The date you include is therefore the date of the revision you accessed, the URL that of the specific revision.
APA Citation Generator
How to cite Wikipedia in MLA styleIn MLA style, the title takes headline capitalization, the publisher is included, and there is a period after the URL.
Example: MLA Wikipedia citation
MLA format “
Article Title
.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation,
Date of last modification
,
URL
.
MLA in-text citation (“Statistical Hypothesis Testing”)
The date of last modification can be found at the very bottom of the article (“This page was last edited on…”).
MLA Citation Generator
Scribbr Citation CheckerNew
The AI-powered Citation Checker helps you avoid common mistakes such as:
Missing commas and periods
Incorrect usage of “et al.”
Ampersands (&) in narrative citations
Missing reference entries
Learn more
How to cite Wikipedia in Chicago style
Chicago style recommends against citing Wikipedia as a source. However, if you do need to cite it, the format depends on which of Chicago’s two styles of citation you’re following:
Notes and bibliographyIn notes and bibliography style, Chicago recommends only citing Wikipedia in your footnotes, and leaving it out of your bibliography. Use the short note format if you need to cite the same article again.
Example: Chicago Wikipedia citation (notes and bibliography)
Full note format 1. “
Article Title
,” Wikimedia Foundation, last modified
Date
,
URL
.
Full note example
Short note format 1. “
Shortened Article Title
.”
Short note example 1. “Statistical Hypothesis Testing.”
In author-date style, a parenthetical citation appears in the text, and full details are given in the reference list.
Example: Chicago Wikipedia citation (author-date)
Chicago author-date format Wikipedia.
Year
. “
Article Title
.” Wikimedia Foundation. Last modified
Date
.
URL
.
Chicago author-date citation (Wikipedia 2023)
Is Wikipedia a reliable source?Using Wikipedia as a source is generally discouraged in academic writing, and your institution may even have a specific rule against doing so.
There is disagreement about whether Wikipedia can be considered a reliable source, but most academics agree that you shouldn’t cite it in your writing, for two main reasons:
As an online encyclopedia, Wikipedia is a tertiary source, which means it doesn’t provide original insights or analysis. Usually, only primary and secondary sources are cited in academic writing.
Because Wikipedia can be edited by anyone and its articles are constantly updated, it’s possible for unreliable information to be added without you knowing. It’s better to cite a source with a clearly defined author whose information can be verified.
However, there’s no problem with using Wikipedia for background information and to find other sources, especially in the early stages of your research.
Using Wikipedia effectivelyWikipedia can be a good starting point, since many of its articles comprehensively cite the primary and secondary sources used. You can often find useful sources under the headings “References,” “Further reading,” and “External links” at the bottom of an article. Look for credible sources like scholarly journals and books.
You may occasionally want to cite a piece of general (rather than specialist) information from Wikipedia. When doing so, it’s good practice to independently verify any information you are not sure about before citing it (also called lateral reading).
Look out for warning signs that the article contains unreliable or incomplete information:
Orange or yellow boxes at the top of the article indicating general issues
Warnings such as “[citation needed]” in the text indicating a lack of evidence
Very short articles (sometimes called “stubs”) that don’t provide much depth
Articles that have only been worked on by a single contributor (you can check this under “View history” or “Talk”), indicating a lack of editorial oversight
If you spot one one or more of these issues, it’s probably not a good idea to use the article even for background information.
Example: Poor-quality Wikipedia article
Frequently asked questions about citations Cite this Scribbr articleCaulfield, J. Retrieved July 10, 2023,
Cite this article
Should We Try To Fix Global Warming With Fake Volcanic Eruptions? Tbd.
The eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 sent planet-cooling aerosols into the atmosphere. U.S. Geological Survey Photograph taken by Richard P. Hoblitt.
With heat-trapping carbon emissions on the rise again, researchers are looking for ways to turn down the thermostat while humanity gets itself under control. One potential solution? Try to copy volcanic eruptions. But in addition to adjusting the temperature, such practices could change the frequency of hurricanes, or the location of droughts.
When explosive volcanic eruptions occur—like the one at Mount Pinatubo in 1991—they send small particles of ash and gas high into the atmosphere. These so-called aerosols block and reflect sunlight, providing a temporary cold compress to the earth’s rising temperatures.
After years of watching volcanos go through the motions, some researchers are looking into whether they can use that same method to help cool down the planet—an idea known as solar geoengineering. But a set of studies published this month show just how complicated a proposition that might be.
“Sulfur dioxide is emitted by volcanic eruptions. It’s also relatively cheap and relatively common, so it’s the natural candidate for solar geoengineering,” says Anthony Jones, author of a recent Nature Communications study on the subject. “It’s basically copying a volcanic eruption, and then extending the injection of the aerosols into the atmosphere.”
Sulfur dioxide is a common occupant of the dramatic cloud that follows an earthly eruption, and when it gets into the atmosphere it expands and reacts with other chemicals—including water—to form aerosol particles, which can reflect sunlight back into space and cool the earth below.
For their recent study, Jones and his colleagues looked at what would happen if sulfuric aerosols were injected in just the Southern or Northern Hemisphere. When the southern half of the globe received infusions of atmospheric aerosols, their models showed an increased frequency of tropical storms in the Atlantic. On the other hand, droughts in parts of Africa (specifically, the Sahel) decreased. When they modeled aerosol injections in the Northern hemisphere, they saw fewer hurricanes in the Atlantic, but more severe droughts in the Sahel.
To Jones, that trade-off highlights just how much is at stake should we attempt geoengineering in the real world. Geoengineering has become an increasingly popular topic within the global climate conversation, but it’s not something that can be entered into lightly or unilaterally.
“It’s become an important part of the climate agenda, but there’s no regulation or governance,” Jones says. “It’s a genuine fear that a country may start geoengineering to achieve their own climate goals without thinking about others.”
Ben Kravitz, a climate scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory who wasn’t involved with Jones’ study, liked that the research focused not only on the broader impacts, but also the more specific regional results.
“In a lot of geoengineering research, we focus on temperature and precipitation,” Kravitz says. “But I don’t know many people that walk out their front door and think, ‘what’s the global mean temperature this year?’ Hurricanes are really important, and they affect a lot of people.”
Kravitz is also looking at how injecting aerosols into the atmosphere will change the climate. In a series of papers published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmopsheres last week, Kravitz and co-authors introduced a new computer model that lets them figure out exactly where we should inject aerosols, and in what quantity, to reach a set cooling goal.
“A lot of work that this community has done is around this question: What’s going to happen if we do geoengineering?” Kravitz says. “But it’s not a really well-posed question. Geoengineering will do a lot of things depending on how you do it. Where you put the aerosols, how much you put up there, what type. What we did was turn these around and say, let’s pick some objectives and see if we can get stratospheric aerosol injections to meet them.”
Using the model, they found that in a worst-case scenario (if we keep burning fossil fuels, business as usual) they could stabilize the world’s temperature, by injecting aerosols into the air at four points spaced along a given line of longitude around the world. An algorithm helped determine how much sulfur dioxide should be injected each year at each of the points to maintain cooler temperatures, and even out differences in cooling between the equator and the poles. (The equator tends to cool faster in geoengineering models than the poles do.)
Kravitz is quick to point out that this is merely a first step to gathering more information, not an easy fix for the climate crisis. In the scenario he and his colleagues outline, the world would ultimately need many megatons of sulfur dioxide pumped into the air annually to maintain a cooler temperature, and that model doesn’t immediately take into account how geoengineering may affect extreme events like hurricanes or heat waves, not to mention secondary side-effects like changes in food security, water scarcity, or power generation.
Researchers, the public, and policymakers are all interested in knowing more about those potential risks, especially when weighing them against the ever-more-pressing threats of a changing world—sea level rise, higher temperatures, and acidifying oceans, among others. Governments are actively thinking about geoengineering as another potential tool in a future climate toolbox. Last week, scientists answered questions before Congress about the current state of geoengineering research.
“The pathway that we’re going down is way beyond the temperature that we want for our planet, and there are extreme risks,” Jones says. “It’s really come to the fore since the Paris agreement. People are taking the temperature target [of limiting warming to 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels] seriously.”
But there’s an important caveat here. Even if climate scientists conduct all the studies they possibly can, and policy makers weigh the good and the bad and collectively decide that geoengineering is worth the risk, it still won’t be a permanent solution.
“This is not a magic bullet. Geoengineering is not a solution for climate change,” Kravitz says. Instead, the best we could hope for is that it offers us a chance to keep some greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere before it’s too late. “This is a potential, temporary measure to buy time while we get those mitigation efforts going.”
But, as Jones points out, it would be a temporary measure that would affect the whole world—sometimes in very different ways. If there’s a chance we’ll be sending more hurricanes to the Gulf Coast—or more droughts to an already vulnerable region—in the name of cooler temperatures, we all want to make sure we know what we’re getting into.
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