Scientists: Pollution could combat global warming

[Gan]

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Air pollution may be just the thing to fight global warming, some scientists say.

Prominent scientists, among them a Nobel laureate, said a layer of pollution deliberately spewed into the atmosphere could act as a "shade" from the sun's rays and help cool the planet.

Reaction to the proposal here at the annual U.N. conference on climate change is a mix of caution, curiosity and some resignation to such "massive and drastic" operations, as the chief U.N. climatologist describes them.

The Nobel Prize-winning scientist who first made the proposal is himself "not enthusiastic about it."

"It was meant to startle the policymakers," said Paul J. Crutzen, of Germany's Max Planck Institute for Chemistry. "If they don't take action much more strongly than they have in the past, then in the end we have to do experiments like this."

Serious people are taking Crutzen's idea seriously. This weekend at Moffett Field, California, NASA's Ames Research Center hosts a closed-door, high-level workshop on the global haze proposal and other "geoengineering" ideas for fending off climate change.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/11/16/smog.warming.ap/index.html
______________________________________

Those wacky scientists. Whats next? A nuclear winter to offset global warming?
:fish:
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i3/3strangedays/mushroom_cloud.jpg

[TheEschaton]

This reminds me of The Matrix, where they block out the sun with permanent pollution (the actual showing of this is in The Animatrix).

-TheE-

[Gan]

We could always launch a million used Dixie Chicks CD's up into the Stratosphere and use them to reflect the sun's rays.

:whistle:

[Artha]

And take the chance that future civilizations will find them and base their opinions of us on those CDs? No thanks.

[xtc]

I read the article this morning. The hot sun in Nairobi must be frying their brains.

[Parkbandit]

I read the article this morning. The hot sun in Nairobi must be frying their brains.


BUT SCIENTISTS SAY IT'S A GOOD IDEA, SO YOU ARE FUCKING STUPID FOR NOT AGREEING WITH THEM.

[xtc]

BUT SCIENTISTS SAY IT'S A GOOD IDEA, SO YOU ARE FUCKING STUPID FOR NOT AGREEING WITH THEM.

It was an off the cuff, flippant comment. If you read the article you would have read this.


"It was meant to startle the policymakers," said Paul J. Crutzen, of Germany's Max Planck Institute for Chemistry. "If they don't take action much more strongly than they have in the past, then in the end we have to do experiments like this."

Interesting enough I watched an interesting show in CBC last night. It showed how the Bush administration suppressed Government Scientist's reports on Global Warming and how they changed the actual documents. They interviewed several former Government scientists who were ordered not to talk to the press.

They also interviewed the Bush's Government appointee on Climate Change. He talked about how they were "reducing" greenhouse gases by 15% growth. It sounds like they are reducing greenhouses by 15% but it is a 15% reduction tied to GDP so actually it has allowed for greenhouse gases to increase in the USA.

They other interesting thing is that the individual who was the Bush Gov. appointee on Climate Change that they interview now works for Exxon.

For those in the Toronto area, they will be reshowing it Friday Nov. 17 at 10pm on CBC on the show News World.

http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/denialmachine/index.html

Here is the British Government's report that says that Global Warming, if left unchecked will cost more than both World Wars and the Depression combined.

http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/Independent_Reviews/stern_review_economics_climate_change/sternreview_index.cfm