Ian
priscilla 1Possible Solutions to Global Warming
October 8th 2008 13:56
How to counteract global warming. Click on the image to open a more readable version.
How to cool our planet.
Science Fiction? Maybe Not.
Worried that efforts to limit greenhouse gases may fail, scientists are conceiving exotic ways to reverse of slow global warming.
Sunblock for the sky.
Proposal: Millions of tons of sulphur dioxide are released into the atmosphere by balloons to reflect the sunlight away from Earth.
Problems: May damage ozone layer, expensive.
Sulphur particles would remain in the stratosphere for 1-2 years.
Partly cloudy all the time.
Proposal: If ships sprayed mists of salt water into the air, water would condense on the salt molecules, increasing the reflectivity of the clouds.
Problems: The increased reflectivity would last up to a week, so the spray process must be continuous.
How it might work:
1. An electric motor rotates the three rotors.
2. 2. Normally wind hitting a stationary cylinder is split along both sides.
3. The rotation drives more of the air current to one side of the cylinder, pushing the vessel forward.
4. As the vessel moves, it drags a propeller in the water to generate electricity.
Increased cloud reflectivity would last up to a week.
No death ray here.
Proposal: Trillions of lenses are placed in special orbit where the gravity of the sun and earth are balanced. Together, the lenses would bend some sunlight away from the earth.
Problems: Impractical any time soon, expensive.
Sunlight bent up to 2 degrees.
No it’s not litter.
Proposal: Floating white plastic or foam disks in the ocean could reflect solar radiation back into space. A similar proposal would cover deserts with much white plastic.
Problems: Not as efficient as reflection from space, since only half the sunlight reaches the earth’s surface. Disks may discolour or stray.
Turning the ocean green.
Proposal: Adding iron to the ocean stimulates the growth of phytoplankton, tiny floating sea plants that soak up carbon dioxide. Dead phytoplankton sink to the bottom of the ocean, keeping the carbon there for centuries.
Problems: Carbon dioxide may eventually re-circulate into the atmosphere.
Chlorophyll: A green pigment in photosynthetic organisms, turns the ocean green.
*Image sources from the New York Times.
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