Read the passage below and determine the author's primary conclusion:

"Proponents of geoengineering propose injecting reflective sulfate aerosols into the stratosphere to mimic volcanic cooling. While solar radiation management could technically depress global temperatures, it does nothing to address ocean acidification, alters regional precipitation patterns unpredictably, and risks catastrophic 'termination shock' if abruptly halted."

The author concludes that solar radiation management:

Answer and explanation

Correct answer: B. poses dangerous ecological risks that fail to resolve underlying carbon emissions

  1. Step 1: Trace the author's evaluation: while acknowledging temporary temperature reduction, the author highlights unresolved ocean acidification, disrupted rainfall, and termination shock.
  2. Step 2: The conclusion is that geoengineering carries severe ecological dangers and cannot replace real emissions reduction.
Answer
poses dangerous ecological risks that fail to resolve underlying carbon emissions.
Why not the others: 'is a safe and permanent substitute for cutting fossil fuel consumption' directly contradicts the author's catalogue of risks; 'has already been successfully deployed across all polar icecaps' is factually false; 'will eliminate ocean acidification within a single decade' contradicts the text's explicit statement that it does nothing for acidification.

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