How Flying Saucers Could Save the World
It may sound like science fiction, but researchers are working on a number of bizarre emergency plans to fight global warming, including a mock volcano that spews reflective dust and a solar shade made up of a trillion flying saucers. Scientists have been hesitant to discuss such "geoengineering" schemes, but they may be our only hope if humans fail to curb emissions or the crisis turns out to be worse than predicted.It may sound like science fiction, but researchers are working on a number of bizarre emergency plans to fight global warming, including a mock volcano that spews reflective dust and a solar shade made up of a trillion flying saucers. Scientists have been hesitant to discuss such “geoengineering” schemes, but they may be our only hope if humans fail to curb emissions or the crisis turns out to be worse than predicted.
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They are exploring global warming solutions that sound wholly far-fetched, including giant artificial “trees” that would filter carbon dioxide out of the air, a bizarre “solar shade” created by a trillion flying saucers that lower Earth’s temperature, and a scheme that mimics a volcano by spewing light-reflecting sulfates high in the sky.
These are costly projects of last resort — in case Earth’s citizens don’t cut back fast enough on greenhouse gas emissions and the worst of the climate predictions appear not too far away. Unfortunately, the solutions could cause problems of their own — beyond their exorbitant costs — including making the arid Middle East even drier and polluting the air enough to increase respiratory illnesses.
Kevin Trenberth, climate analysis chief at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, said mankind already has harmed Earth’s climate inadvertently, so it’s foolish to think that people can now fix it with a few drastic measures.
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