John Milton wrote that God instructed the angels tip the earth's axis after the fall to punish humankind...
On Fri, May 6, 2022 at 12:57 PM SALTER Stephen <[email protected]> wrote: > Jim > > Tilting the earth’s axis back to the angle it should have been if properly > constructed would save a great deal of energy for heating and > air-conditioning but anything proposed by a gun club sounds rather energy > intensive. A better way would be to set up a standing wave pattern called > a seich in a sea region running north and south with a period of 24 hours. > The Adriatic looks promising. We would need a reflecting wall at one end > and a line of energy-absorbing and recycling wave-makers at the other. > With deep water and no wave breaking the system is quite efficient. It > would take quite a while but this would give time for people to decide on > the best angle. Once you get it going it takes little extra energy to > overcome losses. > > Stephen > > > > > > *From:* [email protected] <[email protected]> *On > Behalf Of *Jim Fleming > *Sent:* Friday, May 6, 2022 5:07 PM > *To:* Alan Robock <[email protected]> > *Cc:* olivier boucher <[email protected]>; geoengineering < > [email protected]> > *Subject:* Re: [geo] Mark Twain was the first geoengineer > > > > *This email was sent to you by someone outside the University.* > > You should only click on links or attachments if you are certain that the > email is genuine and the content is safe. > > Thanks for the kind acknowledgment Alan. > > I told Oliver Boucher there are more geo-engineering science fiction > vignettes he could use from my 2010 book, Fixing the Sky. One example is > Jules Verne, Sans Dessus Dessous, published in 1889 and appearing > simultaneously in English as The Purchase of the North Pole. The > Baltimore Gun Club attempts to change the Earth's tilt, for profit. > > > > Best regards, > > Jim > > > > > > On Fri, May 6, 2022 at 11:45 AM Alan Robock ☮ <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Dear Olivier, > > First I want to apologize to Jim Fleming. He pointed out to me that he > discusses the same passages of *American Claimant* is his wonderful 2010 > book *Fixing the Sky *(which all of you must have read already, and if > not, you need to read) on pp. 27-30. So although I had forgotten that I > read it (I'm old), it must have still been stuck in my brain somewhere. > Nevertheless, I did really rediscover it by reading the book, and it is > still worth reminding us all of it. > > Second, the part about geoengineering is in the main text of *American > Claimant*, at the end. And for the first part, I tried Google > Translate? How did they do? > > Aucune météo ne sera trouvée dans ce livre. Il s'agit d'une tentative de > tirer un livre sans temps. Il s'agit de la première tentative du genre dans > la littérature fictive, cela peut s'avérer un échec, mais cela a semblé > valoir la peine pour un casse-cou de l'essayer, et l'auteur était juste > d'humeur. Beaucoup de lecteurs qui voulaient lire un conte jusqu'au bout > n'ont pas pu le faire en raison de retards dus au temps. Rien ne brise les > progrès d'un auteur comme devoir s'arrêter toutes les quelques pages pour > perturber la météo. Ainsi, il est clair que les intrusions persistantes du > temps sont mauvaises à la fois pour le lecteur et pour l'auteur. Bien sûr, > le temps est nécessaire à un récit de l'expérience humaine. Cela est > concédé. Mais il doit être placé là où il ne gênera pas; où il > n'interrompra pas le flux du récit. Et ce devrait être la meilleure météo > qui soit, et non une météo amateur ignorante et de mauvaise qualité. La > météo est une spécialité littéraire, et aucune main inexpérimentée ne peut > en faire un bon article. Le présent auteur ne peut faire que quelques > insignifiants genres ordinaires de temps, et il ne peut pas faire ceux qui > sont très bons. Il a donc semblé plus sage d'emprunter la météo nécessaire > à l'ouvrage à des experts qualifiés et reconnus, bien entendu. Cette météo > se trouvera dans la partie arrière du livre, à l'écart. Voir l'annexe. Le > lecteur est prié de se retourner et de se servir de temps en temps au fur > et à mesure de son cheminement. > > > Alan > > On 5/6/2022 6:13 AM, olivier boucher wrote: > > Hi Alan, > > It would be a nice fit to our "le temps des écrivains" section of our > three-monthly meteorological journal. > > See an example here: > https://lameteorologie.fr/issues/2017/98/meteo_2017_98_52 The section > reproduces selected writings on the weather. > > I checked and there is a French translation of the American Claimant, > unfortunately the foreword and annex were not translated at the time. > > All the best, > > Olivier > > > ------------------------------ > > *De: *"Alan Robock" <[email protected]> > <[email protected]> > *À: *"geoengineering" <[email protected]> > <[email protected]> > *Envoyé: *Jeudi 5 Mai 2022 22:07:28 > *Objet: *[geo] Mark Twain was the first geoengineer > > > > Dear All, > > In these days with so much troubling news in the air, I thought some humor > would help. > > It turns out that Mark Twain was the first geoengineer, as explained in > his book * American Claimant*, written in 1891. After beginning the book > with this hilarious explanation about weather, > > “No weather will be found in this book. This is an attempt to pull a book > through without weather. It being the first attempt of the kind in > fictitious literature, it may prove a failure, but it seemed worth the > while of some dare-devil person to try it, and the author was in just the > mood. Many a reader who wanted to read a tale through was not able to do it > because of delays on account of the weather. Nothing breaks up an author’s > progress like having to stop every few pages to fuss-up the weather. Thus > it is plain that persistent intrusions of weather are bad for both reader > and author. Of course weather is necessary to a narrative of human > experience. That is conceded. But it ought to be put where it will not be > in the way; where it will not interrupt the flow of the narrative. And it > ought to be the ablest weather that can be had, not ignorant, poor-quality, > amateur weather. Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can > turn out a good article of it. The present author can do only a few > trifling ordinary kinds of weather, and he cannot do those very good. So it > has seemed wisest to borrow such weather as is necessary for the book from > qualified and recognized experts—giving credit, of course. This weather > will be found over in the back part of the book, out of the way. See > Appendix. The reader is requested to turn over and help himself from time > to time as he goes along.” > > he ends the book with geoengineering. Speaking is Colonel Sellers to his > partner, describing his money-making scheme: > > “This grand new idea of mine—the sublimest I have ever conceived, will > save me whole, I am sure. I am leaving for San Francisco this moment, to > test it, by the help of the great Lick telescope. Like all of my more > notable discoveries and inventions, it is based upon hard, practical > scientific laws; all other bases are unsound and hence untrustworthy. In > brief, then, I have conceived the stupendous idea of reorganizing the > climates of the earth according to the desire of the populations > interested. That is to say, I will furnish climates to order, for cash or > negotiable paper, taking the old climates in part payment, of course, at a > fair discount, where they are in condition to be repaired at small cost and > let out for hire to poor and remote communities not able to afford a good > climate and not caring for an expensive one for mere display. My studies > have convinced me that the regulation of climates and the breeding of new > varieties at will from the old stock is a feasible thing. Indeed I am > convinced that it has been done before; done in prehistoric times by now > forgotten and unrecorded civilizations. Everywhere I find hoary evidences > of artificial manipulation of climates in bygone times. Take the glacial > period. Was that produced by accident? Not at all; it was done for money. I > have a thousand proofs of it, and will someday reveal them. > > “I will confide to you an outline of my idea. It is to utilize the spots > on the sun—get control of them, you understand, and apply the stupendous > energies which they wield to beneficent purposes in the reorganizing of our > climates. At present they merely make trouble and do harm in the evoking of > cyclones and other kinds of electric storms; but once under humane and > intelligent control this will cease and they will become a boon to man. I > have my plan all mapped out, whereby I hope and expect to acquire complete > and perfect control of the sun-spots, also details of the method whereby I > shall employ the same commercially; but I will not venture to go into > particulars before the patents shall have been issued. I shall hope and > expect to sell shop-rights to the minor countries at a reasonable figure > and supply a good business article of climate to the great empires at > special rates, together with fancy brands for coronations, battles and > other great and particular occasions. There are billions of money in this > enterprise, no expensive plant is required, and I shall begin to realize in > a few days—in a few weeks at furthest. > > “I would like you to provide a proper outfit and start north as soon as I > telegraph you, be it night or be it day. I wish you to take up all the > country stretching away from the north pole on all sides for many degrees > south, and buy Greenland and Iceland at the best figure you can get now > while they are cheap. It is my intention to move one of the tropics up > there and transfer the frigid zone to the equator. I will have the entire > Arctic Circle in the market as a summer resort next year, and will use the > surplusage of the old climate, over and above what can be utilized on the > equator, to reduce the temperature of opposition resorts. But I have said > enough to give you an idea of the prodigious nature of my scheme and the > feasible and enormously profitable character of it.” > > This is followed by the weather appendix, with quotes from various other > authors of the time. > > -- > > Alan > > Alan Robock, Distinguished Professor > Department of Environmental Sciences Phone: +1-848-932-5751 > Rutgers University E-mail: > [email protected] > 14 College Farm Road http://people.envsci.rutgers.edu/robock > New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8551 ☮ https://twitter.com/AlanRobock > > [image: Signature] > > -- > 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 view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/geoengineering/2596c7a0-e0c3-d8e4-7373-cd3cdb57909b%40envsci.rutgers.edu > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/geoengineering/2596c7a0-e0c3-d8e4-7373-cd3cdb57909b%40envsci.rutgers.edu?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > > > -- > 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 view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/geoengineering/6a160cbc-2cea-2494-3778-a95f6975043c%40envsci.rutgers.edu > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/geoengineering/6a160cbc-2cea-2494-3778-a95f6975043c%40envsci.rutgers.edu?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > > > -- > > *James R. Fleming* > Charles A. Dana Professor of Science, Technology, and Society, Emeritus, > Colby College > > Email: [email protected] > > Profile: *https://www.colby.edu/directory/profile/jfleming/ > <http://www.colby.edu/directory/profile/jfleming/>* > > > > Series Editor, Palgrave Studies in the History of Science and Technology, > https://www.palgrave.com/us/series/14581 > > > "Everything is unprecedented if you don't study history." > > > > -- > 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 view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/geoengineering/CAKg5ObZP-qqKb%3DdjW1%2BoCb1S7mg-XKS1V4kNux8KMp07DKaGQg%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/geoengineering/CAKg5ObZP-qqKb%3DdjW1%2BoCb1S7mg-XKS1V4kNux8KMp07DKaGQg%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in Scotland, > with registration number SC005336. Is e buidheann carthannais a th’ ann an > Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann, clàraichte an Alba, àireamh clàraidh SC005336. > -- *James R. Fleming* Charles A. Dana Professor of Science, Technology, and Society, Emeritus, Colby College Email: [email protected] Profile: *https://www.colby.edu/directory/profile/jfleming/ <http://www.colby.edu/directory/profile/jfleming/>* Series Editor, Palgrave Studies in the History of Science and Technology, https://www.palgrave.com/us/series/14581 "Everything is unprecedented if you don't study history." -- 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 view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/geoengineering/CAKg5ObamPoDEd9ouDfvY%3DXph7WH9xMyZ1VU8r5VevzGQ0O4tPg%40mail.gmail.com.
