Quote:
Originally Posted by GGG
My problem with the Anthropogenic global warming group is the solutions that are being proposed out of it. This whole concept of cap and trade will make a whole bunch of people rich, increase the cost of energy but in the end will likely do very little to solve the problem.
I think the most pressing issues in the world are individual access to safe water and access to food. Cheap plentiful energy is one of the best ways to improve peoples lives. Any Carbon trading or tax increases the cost of energy thoughout the world. Would we be better off just increasing aide budgets and forgiving debt with the money that would be spent enriching traders in carbon trading?
I also thing that terafroming solutions should be at the forefront rather then just cutting emmissions. In order for every citizen in the world to have equal access to carbon emissions and global temp not to rise more than 2 degrees we have to cut emmissions by 95%. This is not possible with the lifestyle I want to live.
Then just recently I read Super Freakanomics and they some up my views on global warming almost perfectly and it doesn't really matter if you believe the science behind it or not.
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.co...ing-fact-quiz/ |
There was a great documentary on just this subject of how to engineer the planet to cool it down some, seeding clouds in the oceans, spiking massive plumes of algae in the south pacific, mirrors into space, artificial trees that absorb co2, etc.. Was really fascinating stuff.
As much as I hate to rely on it, I think we'll have to science our way out of this planetary issue of temperature control, if we can become confident in our outcomes, keeping the planet at a certain temperature could stave off future climate shifts hot/cold and allow us to make the planet as ideal for the large population and increase our usable farmland.
Obviously we need to start decreasing our impact on the environment now, but yes hasty and profit driven (for a few) things like carbon trading really worry me, especially cause the republicans liked it first
Engineering the planet at such levels will require a great deal of cost and more science on our affects by doing such a thing, but I do think that if we go down this patch we can eventually create a optimal planet that uses most of its land, less deserts more bio-diverse areas like rain-forest and reefs.
I'm sure there will be opposition from some people thinking we shouldn't toy with some God's plan, but I think its inevitable as is our attempt to colonize the moon as a precursor to doing the same on Mars .
edit, found the Discovery thing:
Top 5 Bio-engineering ideas to cool down any warming:
http://news.discovery.com/tech/geoen...mes-top-5.html
#1: Air Scrubbers
#2: Charcoal
#3: Reflectors In Space (this one in my humble opinion is ridiculous)
#4: Stratospheric Aerosols
#5: Marine Stratiform Clouds