Iron particles are falling into the seas in greater quantities than thought | Hacker News Reader

Iron particles are falling into the seas in greater quantities than thought

scientificamerican.com

29 pointscurtis7 comments

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?

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

> 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.

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).

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.

Perhaps you don't want to completely change your lifestyle, but certainly there are ways in which you can take action. If you feel that industry should care more, then you can use your voice to advocate for change.

The climate crisis and other ecological emergencies are real, and many people have been feeling their effects for some time. Think about what you can do to make a difference now, before you feel the effects of these crises in your own everyday life.

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.

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