There are days I really hate understanding science, because without radical change and governmental investment, things are only going to get worse, and through science, we just keep finding new ways things will change that I just don’t like. This next one, though, causes super mixed emotions but might make a good science fiction book plot.

As climate change advances, our world is reflecting less sunlight off snow and absorbing more sunlight into the dirt and plant-covered landscapes. This means our world is literally getting less shiny. Warming oceans also mean fewer ocean clouds to reflect sunlight, and all in all, if you’re looking at our world from another world, we’re going to get ever-so-much dimmer. It’s not a big effect, but, if you are in the mood to make yourself less visible to aliens, this is one way to do it. In the last twenty years we’ve dimmed about half a percent; not that big an effect, but still noticeable and still going on, so it’s going to be interesting to see how this evolves over time.

And by interesting, I’m using the definition from Firefly of OMG OMG, we’re all going to die! Or least the snow and the puffy ocean clouds are all going to die, and…

More Information

AGU press release

“Earth’s Albedo 1998–2017 as Measured From Earthshine,” P. R. Goode et al., 2021 August 29, Geophysical Research Letters