November 30, 2008 by mike.

When you bring up drastic measures to address global warming you often get blasted for playing with fire. The problem is that we have been playing with fire since we discovered fire and the build-up of carbon dioxide is the result. One unintended impact of so many human activities is carbon dioxide buildup. It’s too bad that we can get so exorcised with ideas that intend to reduce atmospheric CO2 buildup when we are in such denial about all the activities that create buildup.

Nonetheless, I do understand the warnings inherent in so many “scientific” endeavors that have become famous for their unintended consequences.  You do not want to be the scientist remembered for introducing  Killer bees  to the Americas.

And you probably would not want to remembered for suggesting bringing Cane toads to Australia was the solution to a bug infestation.

So, when scientific thinkers start suggesting large scale geo-engineering projects to keep the small blue planet a congenial place for the kind of life that has evolved here, the discussion that follows has to include some concern that we may be fooling with some systems that operate in ways that we don’t understand and that the long term consequences could be disastrous.  If the cure is worse than the disease you might want to try living with the disease, right?

Despite those reservations and concerns, some folks are starting to suggest that when large scale extinctions are underway,  it may be time to start thinking more about geo-engineering.

I am not keen on this idea of liming the oceans to fix both the increasing acidity of the oceans  and to give the oceans a boost in their capacity as carbon sinks for a number of reasons.  One is that the creating of the lime takes a significant amount of energy, so this approach does not appear to be an elegant solution where some component or facet of the problem itself becomes a solution, this one is simply a means of hitting two problems with one energy-consumptive solution.  It’s a twofer.  I will give it credit for that.  It works on ocean acidification and carbon sequestration at the same time.

Maybe we can figure out how to unring the killer bee and cane toad bell once we come up with the geo-engineering solution to global warming?

clipped from www.cquestrate.com The Idea First, you heat limestone to a very high temperature, until it breaks down into lime and carbon dioxide. Then you put the lime into the sea, where it reacts with carbon dioxide dissolved in the seawater. The important point is that when you put lime into seawater it absorbs almost twice as much carbon dioxide as is produced by the breaking down of the limestone in the first place. This is a brief description of the idea. If you prefer we also have a detailed description and a slideshow presentation on the process for you to see. The idea works like this:

Posted in Connect the Dots, Small Foot Print, Global Warming, Uncategorized | Print | 2 Comments »

November 30, 2008 by mike.

There is a lot of discussion back and forth between environmentally-aware folks who disagree on how we should proceed.  James Hansen has been a consistent scientific voice warning us that change is required and he has been muzzled at times.

Dr. Hansen has signed on to the idea that we have to get atmospheric carbon dioxide down to 350 ppm.  Climate Progress has an open letter to Dr. Hansen about this idea.   Climate Progress appears to think that 450 ppm ought to be the target.

This is a hard discussion to follow for those of who do not have a phd in some related field.  I think we have to keep in mind that it is likely there is a cost benefit analysis that comes into play.  The cost on responding to droughts, famines, floods, hurricanes has to be weighed against the cost of aggressive climate action that will reduce the impact and cost of the natural disasters that attend global warming.

The human cost of death and suffering that goes along with climate change can’t even be quantified in this discussion.

I think that we might be wise to err on the side of caution and go after the problem of global warming with the kind of zeal that some folks have for going after the potential danger of “terrorists.”

Change is coming.  President Obama is in the wings.  It is encouraging to be engaged in an active discussion about what level of carbon dioxide should be the target instead of listening to policy makers equivocate about the problem of global warming.

I think we have to walk some kind of tightrope to keep up pressure and enthusiasm for change without resorting to the kind of conflict that will reduce our effectiveness.  I think it will become clear in time if the magic number (if one exists, because global climate is an amazingly complex system) is 350 or 380 or 410.  If we find out the magic number is 300 and we have organized around lower cost number like 450, our cost-containment strategy just went out the window.

Posted in Connect the Dots, Small Foot Print, Global Warming | Print | 1 Comment »

November 30, 2008 by mike.

It’s difficult to find a silver lining for this impact of global warming. The outlook for the glaciers of the Himalays is grim. They are in retreat. The increase melt is creating runoff disasters and the long term outlook is for the fresh water source for a billion people to wane. There is nothing to do here except stabilize global climate through radical change in the way we live. I think Bill McKibben is correct in setting the target at 350 ppm for CO2. I don’t know how we get there, but I think we are looking at global disaster if we don’t. As Bucky Fuller said, we can afford to do anything that we have to do.

clipped from abcnews.go.com In the Indian Himalayas, You Can Hear Climate Change Before You Can See It CHHOTA SHIGRI GLACIER, INDIAN HIMALAYAS, August 08, 2008 By NICK SCHIFRIN In the Indian Himalayas, you can literally hear the glaciers melting. The river that rushes through the Lahaul-Spiti Valley is fed almost entirely by melt from the surrounding glaciers. The sound of the river’s rapids has never been this loud. The level of the water has never been this high. In other words, the glaciers have never receded this quickly.

Posted in Uncategorized | Print | 1 Comment »