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Cloud ships could set sail to stave off global warming
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Giant wind-powered, unmanned ships could be sailing back and forth across the Pacific spraying seawater into the air to create clouds to combat global warming, according to a new report.
The report was commissioned by the Copenhagen Consensus Center , a Danish think-tank led by Bjorn Lomborg, that focuses on solving the world's biggest challenges in the most cost-efficient way.
Engineering solutions to fight global warming have been proposed before. A giant space sunshade proposed several years ago is now viewed as far too expensive and impractical to be pursued. RedOrbit
The cloud ships are gaining popularity because they are relatively cheap at $9 billion and could be deployed within 25 years.
Under the cloud ship plan, about 1900 ships would crisscross the Pacific, pulling in salt water and spraying it from the top of tall funnels to create large white clouds. The clouds would reflect between one and two percent of the sunlight that would otherwise reach the Earth and warm the ocean. Even though only a very small percentage of sunlight would be reflected, it is anticipated that these clouds would be enough to offset the greenhouse effect caused by carbon dioxide emissions.
(images of cloud ships at approximately 1:52 minutes)
The report also looked at replicating the effects of volcanic eruptions which can cool the Earth for a year or more. Mount Pinatubo, which erupted in 1991, cooled the Earth by spewing billions of tons of sulfur dioxide and other particles into the atmosphere. The study concluded that a proposal for putting particles (non-sulfur) into the atmosphere would cost $230 billion and would be difficult to control. Times Online
Of course, there are always possible unintended consequences that might result from any of these geo-engineering ideas.
Yet, sometimes the craziest sounding ideas turn out to be brilliant; then again, sometimes they just turn out to be just crazy.
Photo : http://www.flickr.com/photos/98528214@N00/331645544/
Video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg7J8P-uXqM
Copyright 2009 -- K.J.Collins
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