From the UK Telegraph, via Jonah Goldberg at The Corner:
The “cloud ships” are favoured among a series of schemes aimed at altering the climate which have been weighed up by a leading think-tank.
The project, which is being worked on by rival US and UK scientists, would see 1,900 wind-powered ships ply the oceans sucking up seawater and spraying minuscule droplets of it out through tall funnels to create large white clouds.
These clouds, it is predicted, would reflect around one or two per cent of the sunlight that would otherwise warm the ocean, thereby cancelling out the greenhouse effect caused by Carbon Dioxide emissions.
I say let’s try it even if it isn’t necessary!
While moseying around the Telegraph’s comment threads, I also ran into a site that some of our Global Warming/Climate Change skeptics might enjoy perusing: ClimateRealists.com. I’ll be adding it to our rotating blogroll.
Comments 9
CK likes clouds of Sophistry and mist, he does he does!!!
August 10th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Some time between 15 and 20 years ago, before I stopped reading the Economist, they ran an article about how the vapor trails of airplanes were measurably cooling the temps in Europe by creating “artificial cloud cover”: anthropogenic cooling, accompanied by much hand-wringing. I’ve always wondered what happened to that bit of alarmism.
August 10th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
I wonder what the effect of hand-wringing on the climate is.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
@Barbara – Probably went the way of the integrity of the ‘climate change’ alarmists.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
I know Newsweek was predicting dire consequences of global cooling back in the early 1970′s.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Barbara,
There was some research done during the “no fly” period after 9/11 that seemed to confirm the effect of jet contrails.
http://archives.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/08/07/contrails.climate/index.html
With respect to this ship idea I have no comment except that it seems to involve a lot of needed technical development and testing. On the other hand, ever since reading about the effect of contrails, I’ve thought that we already have a (nearly) free technology means to deliver any sort of chemical desired to the altitude regularly travelled by commercial airliners.
I think anything with the potential to significantly alter the climate is worthy of careful study in light of the known cost (very, very large) of doing anything to slow the addition of CO2 to the atmosphere. The fact that I think the CO2 zealots are way out ahead of the science doesn’t mean we shouldn’t at least research possible palliatives for use if necessary.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
@Sully –
If by ‘way out ahead’ you mean they haven’t got a bloody clue about what they’re talking about, you might be right.
It’s been repeatedly shown that the computer models – the fons et origo of the hysterical pronouncements of the climate-change hucksters – are horribly unreliable, unable to predict current climate conditions based on reliable historical data.
That the planet has been warming is not arguable – it’s been doing so since well before the Industrial Revolution. What is not proven and, based on the evidence, is increasingly unlikely is the idea that this is the result of human enterprise.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Awesome. This has been a great summer, with the climate cooling from its late-’90s cyclical high. Let’s keep it this way. Plus, it would be serious fun to ram one of these critters with an old WWII junk-heap being taken out for target practice.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Now that’s the kind of thinking this country needs more of!
August 10th, 2009 at 2:49 pm