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| At the Snowmass workshop, it was clear that putting a “sudden stop” to climate-warming emissions would require something more than investing in wind turbines. In one presentation, Jae Edmonds, chief scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, suggested that the only way you could radically cut emissions without shutting down the economy would be to replace coal and oil with genetically engineered biofuels, which would not only cut pollution but would suck up carbon dioxide as they grow. But making such a switch would require a massive expansion of agriculture, sweeping changes to the world’s energy infrastructure, bold political leadership and trillions of dollars. |
All of which would be good for the economy! Just like wartime deficit spending, but making things rather than destroying them! Keynes would approve!
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| require a massive expansion of agriculture, sweeping changes to the world’s energy infrastructure, bold political leadership and trillions of dollars. |
It’s do-able… except maybe for the bold political leadership part…
D
Actually I was refering to this idea:
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Wood hooked up his laptop, threw his first slide onto the screen and got down to business: What if all the conventional thinking about how to deal with global warming was wrong? What if you could do an end run around carbon-trading schemes and international treaties and political gridlock and actually solve the problem? And what if the cost to get started was not trillions of dollars but $100 million a year – less than the cost of a good-size wind farm? Wood’s proposal was not technologically complex. It’s based on the idea, well-proven by atmospheric scientists, that volcano eruptions alter the climate for months by loading the skies with tiny particles that act as mini-reflectors, shading out sunlight and cooling the Earth. Why not apply the same principles to saving the Arctic? Getting the particles into the stratosphere wouldn’t be a problem – you could generate them easily enough by burning sulfur, then dumping the particles out of high-flying 747s, spraying them into the sky with long hoses or even shooting them up there with naval artillery. They’d be invisible to the naked eye, Wood argued, and harmless to the environment. Depending on the number of particles you injected, you could not only stabilize Greenland’s polar ice – you could actually grow it. Results would be quick: If you started spraying particles into the stratosphere tomorrow, you’d see changes in the ice within a few months. And if it worked over the Arctic, it would be simple enough to expand the program to encompass the rest of the planet. In effect, you could create a global thermostat, one that people could dial up or down to suit their needs (or the needs of polar bears). |
KF
Actually, it sounds interesting while also scaring the crap outta me! As one fellow in the article said, what if people said ‘Oh look! We can deal with this on our own! Now let’s go burn that fossil fuel.’ Hooray for “science”! What would long term health effects be from spewing millions of pounds of stuff into the stratosphere to adjust the “thermostat”. 
What goes up…
Remember the ol’ Parkay margarine commercials?
D
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| Actually, it sounds interesting while also scaring the crap outta me! |
That’s how I took it!
How many planes of sulfur would it take to mimic a volcano?
If it worked Americans would go on a binge and you’d need to carry a knife to cut through the air to see where you’re going!
KF
Tom,
The economic windfall good ecology would produce far exceeds the seed money.
Of course…I don’t have a degree in business like GWB…
KF
| Quote (KingFish @ Nov. 24 2006,14:22) |
| Tom, The economic windfall good ecology would produce far exceeds the seed money. Of course....I don't have a degree in business like GWB...... KF |
And let's just thanks goodness you don't. Think of how many words you wouldn't know how to pronouce correctly. Them Harvard educations are perhaps a bit over-rated.
Mispronounced words?..And I thought her was talking in code to his base since they seem to understand him! 
KF