NASA is best placed to coordinate international climate management response. To get a sense of why NASA might be preferred in this role, please watch this 20 minute film about how travelling to space affects astronauts. It has had over a million views since release last month. I highly recommend it, both for the beautiful vision of our planet from space and for the interviews with astronauts about how space travel gave them a deeper scientific understanding of the earth. Astronauts see our planet through their own eyes as a single system. Interviews explain how their experience makes them understand with awe how fragile and thin our atmosphere really is, This changed vision resulting from space travel has been called the overview effect. NASA has the experience of large scale project engineering, coordinated among 15 nations through the International Space Station. It has the capacity and status and resource potential to succeed, and an unrivalled institutional understanding of our planetary system. The Arctic melting is a primary global security threat. John Nissen has documented the catastrophic collapse in sea ice with risk of suddenly pushing past a tipping point into a new destabilised global climate. SRM is urgent, and needs to be developed by a capable and trusted organisation, such as NASA, within a program to stabilise and reduce greenhouse gas levels. Robert Tulip
________________________________ From: John Nissen <[email protected]> To: [email protected]; John Nissen <[email protected]>; Reese Halter <[email protected]>; Linda G. Brown <[email protected]>; Stan Rhodes <[email protected]>; Rafe Pomerance <[email protected]>; Peter R Carter <[email protected]>; [email protected] Cc: geoengineering <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, 2 March 2013 10:44 AM Subject: Re: [geo] Proposal for Who to Lead SRM Effort? Hi Robert, You may be right. We have a situation akin to Apollo 13, where we desperately need to find a way to cool the Arctic before the heating from albedo loss becomes insuperable. Our life support system is in jeopardy. Would Jim Hansen be the man to lead the team? I am afraid that in his most recent papers he has neglected the heating from albedo loss, which is growing exponentially as the sea ice area collapses and snow retreats. This heating may have reached the equivalent of 0.8 W/m2 heating averaged globally and annually. The September volume trend is clearly to zero by 2015 - which is terrifying. We need a brave man or woman to face up to the reality and take up the challenge to find a solution. Cheers, John (just returned from the film "Lincoln" - what moral leadership!) -- On Fri, Mar 1, 2013 at 6:36 PM, Robert Tulip <[email protected]> wrote: NASA has an excellent global reputation as the agency that solved the technical problems of reaching the moon with the Apollo Project. We need a new Apollo Project today to address climate change, the primary security problem facing our planet. > Applying technology at scale can address the triple bottom line of economic, ecological and social sustainability. Emergency response is needed using solar radiation management while long term reform of energy systems is developed through carbon dioxide removal. > President Obama can show American vision and leadership by committing to stabilise global climate in this decade, as President Kennedy committed to sending a man to the moon and back in the 1960s. > NASA could do it. >Robert Tulip > >http://www.project-syndicate.org/online-commentary/nasa-geo-engineering-to-prevent-climate-change-by-jim-hartung > > >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>Can NASA Stop Global Warming? >>>>>>>> * >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> * 30 >>>>>>>> * 4 >>>>>>>> * 8 >>>>>>>> * 11 >>>>>>>>LOS ANGELES – In 1961, President John F. Kennedy asserted that the >>>>>>>>United States “should commit itself to achieving the goal…of landing a >>>>>>>>man on the moon and returning him safely to earth,” by the end of the >>>>>>>>decade. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration accepted the >>>>>>>>challenge. From 1969 to 1972, NASA’s Apollo program achieved six manned >>>>>>>>landings on the moon – missions that expanded human knowledge, >>>>>>>>stimulated economic growth, bolstered America’s geopolitical standing >>>>>>>>at a critical time, and inspired people worldwide. Illustration by Dean >>>>>>>>Rohrer >>>>>>>>Since then, NASA has repeatedly overcome adversity in pursuit of >>>>>>>>important breakthroughs and achievements, including exploring the solar >>>>>>>>system with robotic spacecraft, peering deep into the universe with >>>>>>>>space telescopes, and building the Space Shuttle and International >>>>>>>>Space Station. These successes far outweigh NASA’s few failures. >>>>>>>>But, since the Apollo program, NASA has lacked a clear, overarching >>>>>>>>goal to guide its activities. To drive progress in crucial areas, the >>>>>>>>agency needs a compelling vision that is consequential and relevant to >>>>>>>>current needs – and it is up to US President Barack Obama to define it. >>>>>>>>Obama should challenge NASA to address one of today’s most important >>>>>>>>issues, global warming, by developing safe, cost-effective technologies >>>>>>>>to remove carbon dioxide from the planet’s atmosphere and oceans. This >>>>>>>>mission could be accomplished in two phases.During the first phase, >>>>>>>>which could be completed by 2020, researchers would identify roughly >>>>>>>>10-20 candidate geo-engineering technologies and test them in >>>>>>>>small-scale experiments. The second phase would include large-scale >>>>>>>>test demonstrations to evaluate the most promising technologies by >>>>>>>>2025. >>>>>>>>Developing these technologies is crucial, given that, over the last >>>>>>>>half-century, the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has increased >>>>>>>>from roughly 320 parts per million to almost 400 parts per million, >>>>>>>>heating up the planet and increasing the acidity of the world’s oceans. >>>>>>>>At this rate, the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere will exceed >>>>>>>>450 parts per million in roughly 25 years. >>>>>>>>The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that this >>>>>>>>increase will raise the average global temperature by roughly 2°C >>>>>>>>(3.6°F) over pre-industrial levels. It is widely agreed that exceeding >>>>>>>>this threshold would trigger the most devastating consequences of >>>>>>>>climate change. In other words, humanity has less than 25 years to >>>>>>>>stabilize the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. >>>>>>>>Given this time constraint, decarbonization alone will be insufficient >>>>>>>>to avert irreversible, catastrophic climate change. In 2000-2011, the >>>>>>>>world decarbonized at an average annual rate of 0.8%. The Massachusetts >>>>>>>>Institute of Technology estimatesthat, given current trends, the >>>>>>>>concentration of atmospheric CO2 will exceed 500 parts per million by >>>>>>>>2050, and 800 parts per million by 2100. According to a report by the >>>>>>>>professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, even if the world >>>>>>>>decarbonizes at an annual rate of 3% until 2050, the concentration of >>>>>>>>CO2 in the atmosphere will rise to 750 parts per million, triggering an >>>>>>>>average global temperature increase of 4°C (7.2°F) over pre-industrial >>>>>>>>levels. >>>>>>>>So, while the world should reduce its reliance on fossil fuels in favor >>>>>>>>of lower-carbon alternatives as quickly as possible, another approach >>>>>>>>is needed to avoid crossing the two-degree threshold. The best option >>>>>>>>is to develop technologies capable of removing large quantities of CO2 >>>>>>>>from the atmosphere and oceans, offsetting emissions during the >>>>>>>>transition from fossil fuels. NASA is the best organization for this >>>>>>>>mission for several reasons. >>>>>>>>Geo-engineering (large-scale intervention in the Earth’s climate system >>>>>>>>aimed at moderating global warming) could have severe unintended >>>>>>>>consequences. Developing such technologies safely and efficiently will >>>>>>>>require the kind of creativity, technical competence, understanding of >>>>>>>>planetary processes, international participation, and global monitoring >>>>>>>>capabilities that NASA is best equipped to provide. >>>>>>>>In a sense, global warming itself is a massive geo-engineering >>>>>>>>experiment with unknown consequences. NASA’s international experience >>>>>>>>will enable researchers to explore the options fully, and to develop >>>>>>>>the most effective technologies for reducing this ongoing experiment’s >>>>>>>>risks. And NASA’s reputation for comprehensive scientific inquiry will >>>>>>>>minimize suspicion about the effectiveness of the solutions that it >>>>>>>>develops – and the associated risks. >>>>>>>>The natural processes by which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere and >>>>>>>>oceans work too slowly to offset current emissions without >>>>>>>>intervention; NASA’s success will rest on its ability to expedite and >>>>>>>>accelerate these processes. Promising potential solutions include >>>>>>>>causing CO2-absorbing rocks to weather more quickly, expanding >>>>>>>>practices and technologies in farming and forestry that sequester >>>>>>>>carbon in soil, and fertilizing the ocean to stimulate the growth of >>>>>>>>plants that consume and sequester CO2. >>>>>>>>Far from conflicting with other, more traditional NASA programs, this >>>>>>>>mission would help to reinvigorate NASA and give its other programs >>>>>>>>greater focus and significance. This new, overarching vision would >>>>>>>>motivate NASA to gain a better understanding of the planetary processes >>>>>>>>that may affect Earth’s future, and to advance its capability to >>>>>>>>influence these processes if needed. Ultimately, this knowledge could >>>>>>>>be NASA’s greatest contribution to the world. >>>>>>>>We do not have to decide today whether to implement geo-engineering >>>>>>>>technologies to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and oceans. But, in >>>>>>>>order to ensure that they can be applied if and when they are needed, >>>>>>>>we must begin to develop them soon. Obama should act now, lest he miss >>>>>>>>this crucial opportunity to curtail global warming. >>>>>>>>Read more at >>>>>>>>http://www.project-syndicate.org/online-commentary/nasa-geo-engineering-to-prevent-climate-change-by-jim-hartung#Zga3mmzFMx8bcG38.99 >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>-- >>>>>>>>You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>>>>Groups "geoengineering" group. >>>>>>>>To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>>>>>>an email to mailto:geoengineering%[email protected]. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>>>>>>>Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en. >>>>>>>>For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>>-- >>>>>>>You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>>>Groups "geoengineering" group. >>>>>>>To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>>>>>an email to mailto:geoengineering%[email protected]. >>>>>>> >>>>>>>To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>>>>>>Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en. >>>>>>>For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>>-- >>>>>>You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>>>>>"geoengineering" group. >>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to mailto:geoengineering%[email protected]. >>>>>> >>>>>>To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>>>>>Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en. >>>>>>For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>> >>>>-- >>>>You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>>>"geoengineering" group. >>>>To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>>>email to [email protected]. >>>>To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>>>Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en. >>>>For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>-- >>>You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>>"geoengineering" group. >>>To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>>email to mailto:geoengineering%[email protected]. >>> >>>To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>>Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en. >>>For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>> >>> >>> -- >> >>You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the Google >>Groups "geoengineering" group. >>To unsubscribe from this topic, visit >>https://groups.google.com/d/topic/geoengineering/IGV8AgHq3ds/unsubscribe?hl=en. >> To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to mailto:geoengineering%[email protected]. >> >>To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en. >>For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >> >> >> > >-- >You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >"geoengineering" group. >To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >email to mailto:geoengineering%[email protected]. >To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en. >For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > > > >-- >You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >"geoengineering" group. >To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >email to mailto:geoengineering%[email protected]. >To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en. >For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. 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