Scientists propose a Plan B to cool the planet through geoengineering
But are we willing to live without blue skies?
By Katherine ButlerMon, Nov 02 2009 at 12:18 AM EST
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Photo: Antaean/Flickr Love the blue skies that greet you on a sunny day? Don’t get too used to it. Scientists have proposed a last-resort solution to climate change. It involves engineering the upper atmosphere to cool down, and this will result in a planetary haze.
Recently, experts came together at Massachusetts Institute of Technology for a seminar called "Engineering a Cooler Earth: Can We Do It? Should We Try?" Scientists discussed two key geoengineering approaches to cooling the Earth’s atmosphere: removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and reflecting the sun's rays away from Earth. However, both lines of attack have complications.
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Reflecting the sun’s rays away from the Earth seems to be the preferred choice. It works by putting large amounts of sulfur in the air, as volcanoes do. Scientists cite the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, which cooled the planet by 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit. And so, scientists are seriously weighing this Plan B option, which would include lobbing aerosols via high-altitude military jets into the atmosphere — notably, at a cost of several billion dollars a year.
But what would putting sulfur in the sky do to the planet? Sure, we’d have a cooler Earth, which would include reduced or reversed melting of ice sheets over the Arctic sea and increased plant productivity. But scientists predict this could mean more droughts in Africa and Asia, more acidification in the oceans, more ozone holes in the Arctic, and reduced solar energy production.
And in a move that would likely frustrate astronomers and freak out the world — a layer of haze would lessen blue skies and obstruct the heavens.
Even so, the American Meteorological Society has endorsed this geoengineering as a viable option. "Geoengineering will not substitute for either aggressive mitigation or proactive adaptation … but it could contribute to a comprehensive risk management strategy to slow climate change and alleviate some of its negative impacts."
Others worry that this Plan B solution might undermine the existing efforts to stop global warming. The Institute of Physics, a nonprofit with 36,000 members, released this statement: "Climate geoengineering at scale must be considered only as a last resort … There should be no lessening of attempts to otherwise correct the harmful impacts of human economies on the Earth’s ecology and climate."
Nonetheless, government officials are considering the ideas. As House Science Committee spokesman Alexandria Dery Snider told msnbc.com, “Geoengineering may … be a stopgap to buy us some time, if we find ourselves in a dire situation." This Thursday, the House Science Committee will hold its first hearing on the implications of geoengineering.
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Comments
P. Edward Murray
11/06/2009 11:59 AM
Somtimes PhD means "Piled higher and deeper
These folks are ready for the funny farm big time...
Polluting the upper atmosphere to dim the Sun to control Gjobal warming?
These people hate God, naturalists, Astronomers and school children.
They hate everyone...
Ed
11/05/2009 14:16 PM
It's already happening here in California and has been for at least 10 years.. They have been spraying and poisoning us almost daily. Now they say they are just going to begin? Why don't you just report the effing truth.
Mark Goldes
Today 18:49 PM
The love affair with the automobile may be a surprising path to dramatically reducing the need for fossil fuels.
Revolutionary new technology makes possible electric cars that need no recharge - as well as hybrid engines that may need only one gallon of water as fuel each thousand miles of driving.
See the article: 4 Steps to Revive the Auto Industry and the Economy on the website: .... More
Travis
Today 16:35 PM
I'd rather be dead than never see a blue sky again.
sandra willemsen
Today 12:41 PM
Haven't we learned yet not to tamper with mother nature?
john649
Today 12:27 PM
So first we humans ruin the earth by our misuse of natural resources and greed for money and then we we humans will try and reverse the damage we have done by trying fool the earth into saving 'us' at the expense of those countries we see as less valuable.
Gotta love the human species, that's what will kill us all!
I am going to guess that the earth just might be better off without us.
Arthur Flumzarelli
Today 10:51 AM
Why don't we try reflecting some of the suns rays by painting everything white? All these heat sinks on the planet could use a fresh coat.
polli lolli
11/03/2009 23:38 PM
I lived near a paper mill that spewed out sulfurous gases. You could smell it many miles away and cars parked in its lots had their paint eaten off. The mill might have since cleaned up its act, but I bet they wouldn't mind helping us out with some air pollution...
Torgeir Hansson
11/03/2009 21:52 PM
fer sure, fer sure. Nothing to worry about, just a few million tons of sulphur raining down on the planet. Make sure to grab your umbrella now!
Guest
11/03/2009 21:35 PM
No news here guys... they have been SPRAYING poison on us since the early 90's and now these dirt-bags have to tell us so they put out articles like this into the mainstream to ease us into more lies, more deceit. Time for a peaceful revolution guys. Live long, love and prosper!
gee
11/03/2009 21:30 PM
"droughts in Africa and Asia, more acidification in the oceans, more ozone holes in the Arctic, and reduced solar energy production. "
Wow is that an option or a threat. Maybe less if your outside africa & asia and don't think we need a healthy planet.
David Ehm
11/03/2009 18:11 PM
Geoengineering is another name for Weather Warfare. Much of this is being sold to us in the name of global warming when our atmosphere has been sprayed with metals for over 10 years to turn the atmosphere into a plasma that is user friendly for carrying microwaves that have and are being used for weather modification / warfare. Global warming is not the problem but the military industrial complex is what is killing us all. The hole in the ozone layer may have been caused by the U.S..... More
Joseph van Eijndhoven
11/03/2009 06:57 AM
"The Weather Modification Office sprayed clouds with 186 doses of the chemical to bring rain for the wheat crop, the Beijing Evening News said.
But the arrival of a cold front caused heavy snow to fall, disrupting road, rail and air travel."
Nice.... Now on a global level. If CO2 won't kill us then such scientists surely will.
Alan
11/02/2009 23:07 PM
Spraying the atmosphere with sulphur will simply create acid rain. Better off letting us all drive SUV's.
Bottom Line: the "New Ice Age" (1970's) became "Global Warming" (1990's) became "Climate Change" (2000's). The Deep Ecologists want famine, plague, and war to wipe out everyone who will not bow to their cult and culture.
Matt
11/02/2009 15:43 PM
Are we really this stupid? Using one massive speculative geoengineering project that could potentially destroy the earth in order to correct another?
Brad Arnold
11/02/2009 04:09 AM
Mankind's emission are expected to rise 50% by 2030, so the following silver bullet clean energy technology is the answer!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1iqa0dSJO0
Check out above link to a 2 and a half minute youtube video of a CNN report. What are the odds that the independent testimony below is fraudulent (not bloody likely unless you are a paranoid
