THE Royal Society is backing research into simulated volcanic eruptions, spraying millions of tons of dust into the air, in an attempt to stave off climate change.
The society will this week call for a global programme of studies into geo-engineering — the manipulation of the Earth’s climate to counteract global warming — as the world struggles to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
It will suggest in a report that pouring sulphur-based particles into the upper atmosphere could be one of the few options available to humanity to keep the world cool.
The intervention by the Royal Society comes amid tension ahead of the United Nations-sponsored climate talks in Copenhagen in December to agree global cuts in carbon dioxide emissions. Preliminary discussions have gone so badly that many scientists believe geo-engineering will be needed as a “plan B”.
Ken Caldeira, an earth scientist at Stanford University, California, and a member of a Royal Society working group on geo-engineering, said dust sprayed into the stratosphere in volcanic eruptions was known to cool the Earth by reflecting light back into space.
“If I had a dollar for geo-engineering research I would put 90 cents of it into stratospheric aerosols and 10 cents into everything else,” said Caldeira.
The interest in so-called aerosols is linked to the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991, the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century. The explosion blasted up to 20m tons of tiny sulphur particles into the air, cooling the planet by about 0.5C before they fell back to earth.
The Royal Society is Britain’s premier science institution and its decision to take geo-engineering seriously is a measure of the desperation felt by scientists about climate change.
read the rest of the story here
Stern documents the major increase and then reduction in anthropogenic sulfur.
Reversal of the trend in global anthropogenic sulfur emissions, David I. Stern, Global Environmental Change 16 (2006) 207–220
Now that North America cleaned up the air to breathe, we want to spend alot of money to make it dirty again?
Better to have higher CO2 for more plant growth and more food, and fewer deaths from warmer weather.
Can I get a government grant to spout silly ideas that will never be implemented, all in the name of saving the planet?
I can prove, mathematically, that having busty blondes walk around topless will result in increased albedo, and so stave off the doom we’re headed for. Show me the (m/h)oney!
If a fusion breakthrough were made today, it would still take 10-15 years before we could start deploying it commercially. And that doesn’t replace the fossil fuels we use for transportation, it would just take care of our electrical power. Anyway, look up LENR and Polywell. On Polywell, we should know within 18 months if it can led to a power reactor. LENR is interesting, but not so close to becoming a power source.
The nuclear winter scenario is based on fires started by nuclear detonations, so you’d have to target forests, not ice caps. Since fires don’t drive particulates into the stratosphere, this never passed the laugh test for me.
Umm yes.
I don’t like dormant volcanoes, they tend to become active all of a sudden.
If i am going to live next to a volcano I like it to be extinct. As indeed the one just up the road is.
But why would you want to drop a fission/fusion device into an active volcano? Even if were 100 megatons or so it would not make much difference.
Major volcanic events release energy on a scale so vast our little bombs are tinpot toys by comparison.
Kindest Regards.
From the comments above…GW skeptics are opposed to geoengineering.
GW believers are also opposed to geoengineering. Though in bouts of pessimism, some will acknowledge that it might become a last resort.
And there are others who have an interest. There is an easy prediction here, should global temperatures continue to rise…That geoengineering will be promoted as an alternative to serious CO2 cutbacks…
People don’t get it. These folks are neo-malthusians, they want to speed up the coming ice age, to do so they have to convince the world they are fighting the myth of man made Global Warming. An ice age would wipe out 80% of the population, maybe more. Then they go, oops!, our bad, so sorry.
OT On tamino’s blog open mind the following comment is made
“But of course it’s possible sea level rise could be more; the simple model doesn’t allow for nonlinear behavior of the system, in particular it doesn’t anticipate accelerating disintegration of large ice sheets. ”
To which I replied but equally it’s possible sea level rise could be less, particularly if there is no accelerating disintegration of ice sheets
This comment however did not pass moderation. Why on earth not? It is hardly contentious just noting that it is equally possible that sea levels will not rise. Where is the harm in posting that?
I doubt this will pass moderation either. If your readers don’t already I suggest they have a look at open mind which is a total misnomer and is home to the smuggest, self-satisfied, “we know best” brigade I have ever encountered anywhere
Global temperatures declined from 1940 to 1970.
How much was due to a reduction in TSI and how much due to aerosols from nuclear tests?
It is amazing how some small human minds can actually propose such a trifle thing thinking it can change the world. This does expose how silly manmade global warming is.
I mean, ” .. Are these guys from the Royal Society stark raving mad as well as being so utterly arrogant that they believe they are so all powerful that they can control the global climate? ”
A better explanation would be that they are so narrowly focused on their speciality that actually questioning someone else’s idea about climate is the last thing on their minds. A sense of perspective is sadly lacking. None of them seem to consider that you can live in a cooler climate by simply moving further inland or South about 100 km.
An ice age would wipe out 80% of the population, maybe more. Then they go, oops!, our bad, so sorry.
Hmph. I’ll believe that when they go, “oops!, our bad, so sorry,” about DDT.
I’m still waiting for them to go, “oops!, our bad, so sorry,” about anything.
OT: Anthony, you might want to check out Dr. Roy Spencer’s blog. Interesting news posted today.
Ian Plimer says that one good volcanic eruption releases more CO2 than humans do in a year. So that must mean that the dust from these volcanic eruptions would just be covering up the actual warming that they were producing from releasing all that CO2. Then since the cooling would only be temporary, we would have to destroy the world economy anyhow.
And, since Anthony is a Denier, Everything he says is a politically motivated lie. So, he must have made all this up so that the truth sayers would look silly.
And because of the law of unintended consequences, it will backfire on Anthony and then …..
So, it follows that Al Gore is made of wood.
One need only look at mankind’s attempts to “correct’ nature with the introduction of non-native species to see that this is a dangerous idea. Here in Oregon we are overrun with possums and nutria, English ivy and gorse, scotch broom, and hundreds of other pests. The Department of Fish and Wildlife has planted various game fish that have rendered our native cutthroat trout virtually extinct. While some would argue that we have already tampered with the climate, to deliberately do so would be an act of supreme arrogance, and the result another story of unintended consequences on a massive scale.
“The Royal Society is Britain’s premier science institution” Gosh, that’s sad.
I tracked down the original article, and found something that – well – that — hmmm, you be the judge. I’ve blogged about it here: http://peacelegacy.org/articles/end-line-royal-society
Bill Illis (19:19:57) :
I remember Michael Crichton’s talk on how man only screws things up when he thinks he can improve on nature :
52 minute Google video :
“States of Fear: Science or Politics?”
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2795753336403393538
The cognitive dissonance is just astounding. We spent the last 40 years getting sulfur and other particulates from power plants out of the air, now they want to put it back! Assuming CO2 really were a problem, a few hundred thorium fueled, passively safe, low waste/short half life, proliferation resistant nuclear reactors would eliminate it. But something that could actually be accomplished isn’t good enough for the greens because it would leave western civilization intact and allow the third world to rise from poverty. (I especially liked the juxtaposition of the infectious zombie next to the quotes from Prof. Launder – “civilisation as we know it will end within our grandchildren’s lifetime” – I think he’s already been infected! That will certainly happen if the radical greens get their way, however.)
Global Warming will finally be cured – just in time for next ice age.
^Ian (20:28:42) :
I doubt anyone here does not already know what “Open Mind” really stands for. Grant Foster, er, Tamino, is just another RC-style apologist with an agenda.
Mark
OOPs indeed. Those are not words that you want to hear while geoengineering. Well, unless you are some kook environmentalist that thinks that there are too many people.
Ya know as long as we suddenly want to put a bunch of sulfer into the air, why not burn only high sulfer coal in power plants? See, I knew you weren’t serious.
These folks have lost their minds.
John F. Hultquist (17:25:16) :
“spraying millions of tons of dust into the air”
“pouring sulphur-based particles into the upper atmosphere”
Haven’t the developed nations spent many years and dollars to prevent dust and sulphur-based particles from entering the atmosphere?
Are these folks new to planet Earth?
No, but the Sunday Times editor appears to not have understood what they were telling him. The idea on the ‘synthetic volcano’ appears to be his, the ‘dust’ or ‘sulfur-based particles’ would be injected into the stratosphere of course (not where the developed nations have been trying to keep it from).
It was E.Teller , of hydrogen bomb fame, who first mooted this, when the global warming scarecrow was first raised in the ’80s. He advised equipping jets with sulfur exuding outlets in the stratosphere to increase albedo,
Geo engineering solutions should be reversible and easily controlled, if one believes that they are absolutely necessary.
The seeding of clouds by self propelled ships http://www.eta.co.uk/2009/08/07/cloud-making-ships-tackle-climate-change
is by far the most harmless and easily reversed solution.
I believe global warming is a mass delusion, but as one deals with people who are living in their own reality, gently guiding them to the desired results, one should be talking of similar to the ships geoengineering solutions to appease their craziness. These ships will be harmless, except economically.
A better channel to the geo engineering madness of AGW is space mirrors/shades. These could be reversed to be used in case the overdue ice age decides to set in, to increase sunshine on earth.
I have read these kind of doomsday deperado plans before.
Blowing volcanoes with nuclear devices is bound to be worse than the ailment, plowing massive amounts of radioactive gas & dust high into the atmosphere.
Not only is it possible, it’s probable to work with dire consequences for Earth. I direct your attention to U-Tube video of the film the Soviet Union released covering their Tzar Bomba demonstration. At only 50 megatons, the reaction continued 30 seconds. They proved that yields are not contrained by any laws of phsyics beyond available fuel and design.. The blast scared them and the US, as it rightfully should.
The people who are thinking of nuking volcanoes need to be scared out of their shorts as they have succumbed to total madness.
They also need to be reminded in no uncertain terms that detonating nuclear devices underground is against International treaties. Break those treaties and down goes MAD doctrine, diplomatic channels and up goes the paranoid level.
It gets even more dangerous: Start popping off big nukes all over the place and the door is opened for certain nations taking pot shots with the excuse of blaming a stray on somebody else. Major warfare has erupted over far less.
Summary – 3 cans of worms in one Pandorras Box:
Nuclear induced volcanic winter with copious amounts of acid rain
Widespread radioacitve fallout and poisoning
Nervous, Paranoid and Devious minds with fingers on Red Buttons.
There’s no Do-over button at those levels.
Now the hippies and commies can jump on the chemtrail bandwagon whenever they’re not trying to destroy the interests of the secret ‘Jewish’ cabal who run the world, and all that jazz.