http://earth2tech.com/2008/09/01/controversial-globe-changing-measures-could-be-the-only-answer-to-global-warming/
Just what you wanted to hear on a holiday: thanks to a lack of
political action, the controversial practice of geoengineering, or
intentionally modifying the global environment, may be the only way to
combat climate change in a necessary time frame, according to a group
of scientists. Researchers Brian Launder of the University of
Manchester and Michael Thompson of the University of Cambridge have
published a series of papers in the U.K.’s Royal Society that call for
a serious look at a variety of extreme measures to stabilize global
warming, like seeding the oceans with iron, injecting sulphur into the
upper atmosphere, and creating fake clouds over the sea.
The researchers say that there have been very few measures put in
place to meet carbon emission reductions, and the targets that have
been put in place could fall far short. On top of that the researchers
say there is new evidence that the Earth’s climate is even more
sensitive to carbon emissions than previously thought. This all leads
the scientists to conclude that geoengineering techniques, which have
long been considered extreme and last resort measures, should be
studied and reviewed as possible options to combat climate change.
These geo–scale interventions are undoubtedly risky: but the time
may come when they are universally perceived to be less risky than
doing nothing.
One of the papers in the group concludes that the practice of
fertilizing oceans with iron to boost plankton blooms and sequester
carbon through the plankton lifecycle has the “potential to enhance
sequestration,” but that much is not known. Researchers need to do
more fieldwork and create better mathematical models before scientists
can evaluate the practice further, the paper says. We’ve previously
covered startups Climos and Planktos, which are trying to create
business models off of ocean fertilization.
Geoengineering techniques will undoubtedly have unknown consequences,
which could possibly have negative effects on the Earth’s atmosphere.
But we agree that more controversial strategies should be evaluated
and researched. Here’s our Top Ten List Of Most Controversial Ways to
Save the Planet, which we published last November:
* 1. Ocean seeding: More iron causes more plankton blooms;
plankton eat carbon and when they die sink to the bottom of the ocean,
thereby sequestering it.
* 2. Re-ice the Arctic: A University of Alberta scientist proposes
a fleet of 8,000 barges to re-ice the Arctic with salty ice, thereby
cooling the water and keeping the conveyor belt moving.
* 3. Sulfur solar shield: Inject sulfur into the upper atmosphere,
thereby creating a reflective shield that would keep the Earth cool.
* 4. Ocean-cooling pipes: An ocean-cooling pipe that would cool
the ocean in front of approaching hurricanes, as well as causing
plankton blooms that could act as a CO2 sink.
* 5. Cloud seeding: Shooting various things into the clouds to
stimulate them into action to create a reflective, cooling cover.
* 6. Genetically Modified CO2-Eating Trees: While all trees scrub
CO2 from the air and produce the oxygen that we breathe, scientists
are looking into genetically modifying trees’ ability to “eat” carbon
dioxide.
* 7. Fake Plastic CO2-Eating Trees: Modeled on trees’ ability to
suck in CO2, these machines would pump air “through a chamber
containing sodium hydroxide, which reacts with the CO2 to form sodium
carbonate.” After a few more reactions, there’d be pure CO2, which
could be injected into the ground like a regular old carbon storage
system.
* 8. Space mirrors: Using mirrors to reflect sun rays back into
space. The problem is that they’d have to be huge and there would have
to be a lot of them, and launch costs could be in the thousands of
dollars per pound.
* 9. Reflective space mesh: Proposed by Edward Teller, the father
of the hydrogen bomb, this reflective mesh would be placed out in
space, about a million miles between the sun and the Earth.
* 10. Glacier Blankets: Blanket glaciers with a special material
designed to protect high-value Alps skiing territory.
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"geoengineering" group.
To post to this group, send email to [email protected]
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
