Pegasus Research Consortium

Artificial Volcanoes

This was a new one for me. Artificial Volcanoes? Seriously? I came across this while seeking a picture for the header in this section.

(http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/192/cache/geoengineering-flying-volcanoes_19207_600x450.jpg)
Photograph by Emory Kristof, National Geographic

QuoteCan we combat climate change by changing the climate? It's worth a try, say advocates of geoengineering—manipulating the climate to reduce the effects of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere.

5 Last-Ditch Schemes to Avert Warming Disaster (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/09/090904-global-warming-fixes-geoengineering.html)

QuoteOne such potential fix is dubbed artificial volcanoes, or pumping bits of sulfur—an ingredient from volcano ash that becomes a gas—into the atmosphere. Like ash from real volcanoes, (pictured, a volcano erupts on Iceland's Heimaey Island), the particles bounce the sun's light and heat back into space.

This and other emergency measures are under the microscope this week as part of the first Asilomar International Conference on Climate Intervention Technologies in Pacific Grove, California. The meeting will attempt to draft the world's first voluntary guidelines for ethical behavior in geoengineering schemes, most of which are still no more than ideas.

That's not to say any of the schemes will be deployed in the near future, noted Samuel Thernstrom, co-director of the Geoengineering Project at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based policy-research institute.

But experts should seriously consider all options, Thernstrom said, including altering the climate: "There is no argument for ignorance—we should know more about geoengineering."

—Christine Dell'Amore

Published March 24, 2010

Artificial Volcanoes (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/03/photogalleries/100324-global-warming-geoengineering-pictures-asilomar/)

Here are some other topics linked from National Geography to expand on later. This isn't from some conspiracy site, but National Geography itself  :o

Extreme Global Warming Fix Proposed: Fill the Skies With Sulfur (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/08/060804-global-warming.html)

The Asilomar International Conference on Climate Intervention Technologies (http://climateresponsefund.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=136&Itemid=83)
March 22-26, 2010
Asilomar Conference Center
Pacific Grove, California

Samuel Thernstrom (http://www.aei.org/scholar/77)
Former Resident Fellow and Codirector of the AEI Geoengineering Project

Greening the Desert (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/03/photogalleries/100324-global-warming-geoengineering-pictures-asilomar/#/geoengineering-greening-deserts_17562_600x450.jpg)

This one actually works... I do it in my yard. I will cover that in the Survival Tips section later.

"Biochar" in Soils (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/03/photogalleries/100324-global-warming-geoengineering-pictures-asilomar/#/geoengineering-biochar_16960_600x450.jpg)

Seaweed Farms (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/03/photogalleries/100324-global-warming-geoengineering-pictures-asilomar/#/geoengineering-seaweed-farms_17563_600x450.jpg)

Cloud-making Ships (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/03/photogalleries/100324-global-warming-geoengineering-pictures-asilomar/#/geoengineering-cloud-ships_16952_600x450.jpg)  :o

(http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/169/cache/geoengineering-cloud-ships_16952_600x450.jpg)
Illustration by John MacNeill for National Geographic

White Roofs (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/03/photogalleries/100324-global-warming-geoengineering-pictures-asilomar/#/geoengineering-white-roofs_17565_600x450.jpg)

Dumping Iron Into Oceans

QuoteArtificially seeding the oceans with iron—a nutrient naturally carried into the ocean by wind—encourages the growth of tiny marine plants called plankton, which absorb carbon (pictured, a natural plankton bloom off Antarctica). (See "Plan to Dump Iron in Ocean as Climate Fix Attracts Debate.")

Scientists have already conducted about a dozen preliminary iron-seeding experiments around the world, with varying degrees of success. In one test, the iron-stimulated plants were promptly gobbled up by shrimplike animals, negating any carbon-absorbing benefits.

Regardless of the method, finding a way forward for geoengineering is crucial, since many schemes would be long-lasting—"imposing an obligation on future generations," the Climate Institute's MacCracken said. "And that's a huge issue."

But both MacCracken and the American Enterprise Institute's Thernstrom agree that geoengineering may be the only viable option left. (Related blog post: "Earth's Future May Rest on Risky Geoengineering, Scientists Conclude.")

"Geoengineering is a lot like chemotherapy," MacCracken said. "You don't want to do it, but it's better than the alternative."

Published March 24, 2010

Dumping Iron Into Oceans (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/03/photogalleries/100324-global-warming-geoengineering-pictures-asilomar/#/geoengineering-iron-plankton_16961_600x450.jpg)

(http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/169/cache/geoengineering-iron-plankton_16961_600x450.jpg)
Image courtesy NASA via LBL