Not to mention the water pollution…from Springer Select:
To curb China’s haze and air pollution, use water
New geoengineering research suggests pollution-control measures inspired by watering a garden
A new idea to cut back on air pollution: spray water into the atmosphere from sprinklers atop tall buildings and towers, similar to watering a garden. This suggestion comes from Shaocai Yu of Zhejiang University in China, and North Carolina State University in the US. In an article published in Springer’s journal Environmental Chemistry Letters, Yu suggests this course of action as a novel approach to help curb the severe air pollution and heavy haze that is experienced in many Chinese cities, as well as others around the world. Over the past 30 years the megacities of China have suffered from air pollution because of the nation’s decades-long burst of economic and industrial growth.
Moreover, air pollution of this nature is not easy to manage, because the pollution typically comes from a variety of sources such as coal-based energy, traffic and heating in the megacities themselves.But in a new article, Yu proposes spraying water into the atmosphere to simulate natural types of precipitation that are able to most effectively scavenge or collect and remove aerosol and gaseous pollutants. And while chemical agents can be added to the water sprayed for other purposes, Yu recommends forgoing the addition of these chemicals to keep the process as natural as possible to avoid side effects that might cause harm to the environment. Finally, because water that is used for these purposes could be collected and reused, adopting this kind of plan would not exacerbate existing water shortages.
Yu predicts that this geoengineering scheme could help to reduce the fine particle load in the atmosphere efficiently to a safer level of 35 micrograms per cubic meter. And it could be done in a short time, depending how the water is sprayed. This geoengineering technique needs to be implemented daily to avoid the accumulation of air pollution in the atmosphere and the occurrence of haze. According to Yu, this option is very natural, technologically feasible, efficient and low cost.
All the necessary technologies and materials required to make it work are already available, from high buildings, towers and aircraft, to weather modification technology and automatic sprinkler heads. “With careful and considered evaluation beforehand for each area in the cities, this geoengineering approach can be environmentally safe without significant side effects. It can also be deployed easily within communities and on a massive scale at low cost,”
Yu writes. “If you can spend half an hour watering your garden, you can also spend 30 minutes watering your ambient atmosphere to keep the air clean with this technique.”Research and experiments are currently underway to design a suitable water-delivery system to successfully implement this geoengineering option.
Reference:Yu, S. (2013). Water spray geoengineering to clean air pollution for mitigating haze in China’s cities, Environmental Chemistry Letters. DOI 10.1007/s10311-013-0444-0.
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Note: as demonstrated by Dr. John Christy, increased irrigation leads to increased temperatures, particularly overnight temperatures, due to the increased local water vapor content. See this story:
Irrigation most likely to blame for Central California warming
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Re: acid rain
The SO2 is already in the air. The skyscraper sprinklers would tend to concentrate the acid rain in the city with managed runoff instead of raining out further downwind.
There could also be a titration of the acid rain with a the addition of a mild base added to the sprinkler water. Again, some experimentation would be needed to minimize deposition of insoluble precipitates from the neutralized urban rain.
China’s first test Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor (LFTR) goes on line next year after just starting their LFTR program in 2011…
LFTR technology is currently the world’s only viable alternative for cheap, safe, inexhaustible and clean energy with the potential to relatively quickly clean up China’s filthy air (I often go to China on business and know first hand how terrible China’s air quality is from all their coal-burning plants; you have to see it (literally) to believe it…).
LFTRs’ 900C of “waste” heat can also be used to very cheaply and cleanly desalinate sea water to address China’s second major concern of insufficient fresh water supplies, or, for inland LFTRs, can be used to synthesize diesel/jet fuel from H20 + C02 to address petrochemical shortages.
China has basically given up on its solar/wind program with 1,000’s going bankrupt and government loans/subsidies being drastically cut for any solar/wind companies remaining.
The RENIXX (Index of top-30 alt-en companies) peaked at around 2,000 in 2007 and has since collapsed to below 150 in 2012, although it’s been in a dead-cat bounce “recovery” since 2013 and is now trading at around 320….
China is going to eat the world’s lunch again once their LFTR program causes a huge second wave of industrial production to shift to China to take advantage of cheap and inexhaustible energy, while the West continues with its insane Green Elephant wind/solar follies.
Off topic, but I had to send this, no other way I could get it to you – as usual, no details and it is death by press release
From the Herald Sun NEWS
Climate change may slug leaping sea snails
CLEO FRASER AAP JANUARY 07, 2014 2:02PM
THE effects of climate change could hinder sea snails’ extraordinary ability to leap away from predators on one foot, Queensland researchers have found.
The study shows conch snails, found in sandy areas off coral reefs, find it difficult to make the quick decision to jump out of reach of prey when exposed to higher levels of carbon dioxide.
Lead researcher Dr Sue-Ann Watson of James Cook University says the chemical disrupts the snail’s neurotransmitter receptor, causing it to have a delayed response.
The snail either stops jumping or takes longer to jump when exposed to the levels of carbon dioxide projected for the end of this century, the marine biologist says.
This leaves the three to four centimetre snail more vulnerable to the poisonous dart of its slow-moving nemesis, the cone shell.
“Snails normally move slowly and crawl around on their one big foot,” Dr Watson told AAP.
“But this snail uses its foot in a very special way as it has a strong foot and uses it to push up rapidly on the sand.”
The conch snail normally jumps backwards and can leap the equivalent of its body height.
Dr Watson says the broader effects on the ocean’s ecosystem could be quite profound.
“Altered behaviours between predators and prey have the potential to disrupt ocean food webs,” she said.
Study co-author Professor Goran Nilsson, from the University of Oslo, says results of the study suggest carbon dioxide emissions directly alter the behaviour of many marine animals, including seafood.
The study appears in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
Apparently without noticing it, the authors have reinvented air conditioning.
I thought “that would work” but then I thought; evapouration will lose a lot of water, it will take a lot of energy to pump the water up there and collecting enough clean water at the end will require run-off open drains which are unpleasant.
And then I saw what Mike Ozanne says at January 6, 2014 at 2:10 pm.
My initial enthusasm has dampened somewhat.
But humid rainforests are always cooler than dry deserts………….
On a programme I saw recently, I think on the BBC, they demonstrated the efficiency of trees (silver birch?) in removing pollution from the air. The small particles, common in diesel exhaust, stick to the leaves until they are washed off by rain. This would appear to be a more efficient and cheaper use of water and would have the added benefit of providing shade.
As one of the people that helped clean up the electronics industry and the holder of a patent in air washing devices, I think that this is a very poor solution to a bad problem. Here, I thought only western educated savants published such drivel. Could Chinese bureaucrats be dumb enough to bush this solution? I would hope so. Energy wasteful, water wasteful, increased local soil pollution, ineffective. What is there not to like? pg
Wet ground = darker ground = less reflected sunlight = warmer
Wet ground also retains more heat than dry ground.
It will be hotter and moister and more people will die from heatstroke.
@p.g.sharrow at 7:21 am
Here, I thought only western educated savants published such drivel.
Western education helped:
“This suggestion comes from Shaocai Yu of Zhejiang University in China, and North Carolina State University in the US.“
I remember a few months back reading how the Chinese government is actually launching a campaign to teach its citizens that such air pollution isn’t so bad for your health after all. Unfortunately, I’m sure there’s far too many Chinese citizens who won’t question the Kool-Aid their own government wants them to drink.
Just bubble the fire exhaust through a large tank of water, to precipitate the particulates. Make that a deep tank too.
Same here, using FF, all filters turned off.
Hehehe when the mold problem starts we can have another environmental disaster from China. I swear is it beyond people to think even one step ahead? But again I will ask, does the pollution seen in China stop you from buying their cheap goods.. if your answer is no then you are part of the problem.