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mimic volcanic dust to buy time


Tony47

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Several scientists have suggested 'seeding' the stratosphere with billions of miniature reflectors (eg, foil specks; filaments) to reduce the amount of solar heat entering the earths atmosphere and thus lowering the global temperature. This has either been rubbished as too expensive, or hiding the real issue which is around man-made emissions and planet mis-use. As to the former, yes it would probably be extremely expensive but if the alternative is global economic collapse and mass starvation then I would suggest it's worth it. As to the latter, true it wouldn't address the causes of global warming but it would/could buy much needed time while we eventually bring about greener energy emissions.

Am I really off the wall with this understanding of the suggestion or is it something worth going for? Any thoughts?

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Posted
  • Location: Swallownest, Sheffield 83m ASL
  • Location: Swallownest, Sheffield 83m ASL

Welcome to Netweather Tony. :lol:

Great first post.

I think that if we went down the avenue of seeding then we are once again polluting what we are needing to clean up. There is no real way of testing the idea and if we were to try it and make a mistake, there is no way of cleaning the mess up.

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Welcome to Netweather Tony. :lol:

Great first post.

I think that if we went down the avenue of seeding then we are once again polluting what we are needing to clean up. There is no real way of testing the idea and if we were to try it and make a mistake, there is no way of cleaning the mess up.

Many thanks for the welcome pottyprof. I think the idea is worth the risk because, as with volcanic dust, the artificial stuff would gradually disperse. However, I think a UNESCO combined approach, with international approval needed could work out a safe trial shot. My problem with waiting for all nations to reduce emissions in sufficient amounts is that we don't seem to have enough time for that - particularly now that countries like China and India are building coal fired pwer stations like crazy and the search - in the Arctic and Antarctic - for oil is relentless.

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Posted
  • Location: Heswall, Wirral
  • Weather Preferences: Summer: warm, humid, thundery. Winter: mild, stormy, some snow.
  • Location: Heswall, Wirral

Welcome Tony :lol:

I personally would severely disagree with any government initiative to seed anything, or attempt to do this, it would actually make me rather angry. The reason being because man has fiddled enough with nature and doing the Volcanic ash thing would just be again causing an imbalance in natural timing.

I do understand that there is initiative v time and its a big big thing, but I just dont agree with it, seems these days its too much of man v's nature.

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Posted
  • Location: Rossland BC Canada
  • Location: Rossland BC Canada

Besides the objections on principle raised above, the other concern would be whether or not this approach might just make things worse, if the AGW theory is valid (setting aside for a moment that I don't think it is that valid).

Such a move could seed additional precipitation and just make the predicted increase in storminess worse. It might also have little impact on the main target for change, arctic ice cover.

I think if we get to the stage of engineering solutions as opposed to social change solutions, whatever the cause of the warming, the better options would lie in direct approaches in the subarctic and arctic. These could include damming the Bering Straits, reducing the outflow of large rivers into the Arctic Ocean, and changing albedo (surface reflectivity) in some organized fashion around the subarctic margins at key times of year (autumn for example) to improve the chances for snow cover to develop further south.

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