Sam Carana covered this gem at his group and blog. For business school guys, they don't seem too up to date on math, but then look at what happened in 2008. An area of 60K Km2 wouldn't even offset one year's worth of GHG forcing and $280 billion is not inexpensive. They also make no distinction between heat (IR) and solar radiation. Avix Inc. makes LED video displays for billboards. As for me, I'm going to be publishing all my papers from now on in the International Journal of Global Environmental Issues.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081222114546.htm Fix For Global Warming? Scientists Propose Covering Deserts With Reflective Sheeting ScienceDaily (Dec. 23, 2008) — A radical plan to curb global warming and so reverse the climate change caused by our rampant burning of fossil fuels since the industrial revolution would involve covering parts of the world's deserts with reflective sheeting, according to researchers writing in the International Journal of Global Environmental Issues. Engineers Takayuki Toyama of company Avix Inc in Kanagawa, Japan, and Alan Stainer of Middlesex University Business School, London, UK, complain that there have been very few innovative remedies discussed to combat the phenomenon of global warming caused by human activities, despite the widespread debate of the last few decades. They now suggest that uncompromising proposals are now needed if we are to avert ecological disaster. Finding a way to 'stop', or at least minimise, global warming and to even cool the Earth can be achieved by focusing on the primary heat balance between the amount heat produced by human activities and the loss of heat to outer space. They emphasise that efforts to reduce atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide, are not likely to work soon enough. Pessimism that minimising carbon dioxide will no longer solve the problem seems to be spreading among environmental specialists," they say. As such, a lateral-thinking approach that acknowledges the fact that the heat created by human activities does not even amount to 1/10,000th of the heat that the earth receives from the sun. Toyama and Stainer suggest that heat reflecting sheets could be used to cover arid areas and not only reflect the sun's heat back into space by increasing the Earth's overall reflectivity, or albedo, but also to act as an anti-desertification measure. The technology would have relatively minimal cost and lead to positive results quickly. They add that the same approach might also be used to cover areas of the oceans to increase the Earth's total heat reflectivity. The team's calculations suggest that covering an area of a little more than 60,000 square kilometres with reflective sheet, at a cost of some $280 billion, would be adequate to offset the heat balance and lead to a net cooling without any need to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide. However, they caution that it would be necessary to control the area covered very carefully to prevent overcooling and to continue with efforts to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Journal reference: 1.. Toyama et al. Cosmic Heat Emission concept to 'stop' global warming. International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, 2009; 9 (1/2): 151 DOI: 10.1504/IJGENVI.2009.022093 http://news.mongabay.com/2008/1223-desert.html Mirrors in the desert may fight global warming mongabay.com December, 23, 2008 Heat-reflecting sheets in arid regions could cool climate by increasing Earth's reflectivity or albedo, argue scientists writing in the International Journal of Global Environmental Issues. Takayuki Toyama of Avix Inc in Kanagawa, Japan, and Alan Stainer of Middlesex University Business School in London say that blanketing 60,000 square kilometers of desert with reflective sheeting would "be adequate to offset the heat balance and lead to a net cooling without any need to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide" according to a statement from Inderscience, publisher of the journal. The cost would be $280 billion. The geoengineering scheme would not address other issues associated with the build up of CO2 in the atmosphere including ocean acidification and air pollution, but the authors claim it might help counter desertification. The effort might also impact local weather. "Cosmic Heat Emission concept to 'stop' global warming" in Int. J. Global Environmental Issues, 2009, 9, 151-168 http://geo-engineering.blogspot.com/2008/12/heat-reflecting-sheets.html http://groups.google.com/group/geo-engineering/browse_thread/thread/89da63d8ebef3242 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
