this post was submitted on 15 Jul 2024
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It is absolutely trash. Millions of customers at the expense of billions of people. More and more space trash comes down every year, under the blessing of international space treaties and not under much scrutiny. What it will do to our atmosphere is not studied yet and Starlink gives zero fucks.
Do the study then. We typically do not prevent people from high speed internet access on merely the suspicion of problems.
There’s some work already on this topic, mostly unclear results so far. Right now we’re seeing roughly a 2% increase in stratospheric aerosols due to anthropogenic origin. One study notes that the increased aluminum oxides in the stratosphere actually protect against global warming, while the biological effects are still being studied, possibly affecting mental health.
Obviously we need to be cautious with our planet, so I expect far more studies to clarify this effect.
OK I'll just go do a study.
Increased aluminum oxides are a very short term effect and mask the long lasting effects of CO2 and CH4 so we need to stop spouting that industry nonsense.
It’s not a short term effect if the atmospheric change becomes permanent due to increased reentry mass, obviously. The “short term” argument refers to geoengineering by direct injection. I’m not suggesting we do this however - like I said there are indicators that the extra aerosols might be affecting mental health. Besides, like you said, direct carbon reduction is a much more sustainable path to fixing climate change.