Preventing Climate Catastrophe with Space Parasols, H264.mov

This is an animated HiRes wire-frame based clip,
showing one thoughtful solution for cooling planet Earth,
should all the present Global Warming Solutions fail.

When (not if) the already existing burden of CO2,
causes (a) the Boreal Tundra and (b) the Arctic Clathrates to release sufficient CH4 (Methane),
CH4 being 30-40 times more powerful as a GHG than CO2,
then this planet is well and truly in a positive feedback crisis, with no repeal.

Nothing else will then work, except direct cooling of the planet.

Once these parasols are constructed and launched,
they only need to reduce the amount of solation by approx 3% (i.e., a Maunder minimum),
cooling the planet back to normal,
and allowing mankind to do something intelligent about the existing burden of CO2 & CH4.

Already the Arctic oceans are bubbling with CH4 from the sea-floor clathrates; the Boreal tundra is also currently accelerating its release of millions of years/tonnes of CO2 + CH4 embedded in Arctic biomass.

Note that the "cats-eye" profile of the larger ellipsoid (as depicted) DOES NOT shade the temperate part of Earth, thus allowing normal food production to carry on.

It will be an expensive project ! But doing nothing will be many times more expensive, in dollars, lives lost, environment permanently damaged.

Mars is one example of a planet totally destroyed by catastrophic global warming.

On the other hand, one can expect the Climate-Denier-Liars to do nothing until they are confronted by 30-40% of all life on this planet being extinguished. Perhaps even then, they will merely cut off any hands clinging to whatever "life-boats" there are. They are prodigiously self-centred !

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• H264
• climate
• space
• Lagrange

[ozogg]

Good enuf question James.

Some reasons why your proposal may not be approp.:

1. This parasol idea is mega-expensive; it would need funding by a consortium. It is unlikely that they would "prove it" by shading Venus, which doesn't need to be saved.

2. It's less expensive to shade Earth, by a test configuration of two, four ... parasols, to see if it works.

3. It is Earth that (now greatly) needs the shading, and thus our focus should be on Earth.

OK?

Cheers,

Colin.

[jamesduncan246]

Why not experiment with such a system around Venus first?