Slashdot Mirror
Scientist Patents New Method To Fight Global Warming
SUNSTOP writes to tell us that a relatively unknown Maryland scientist has proposed a public patent that he claims could combat global warming. The proposed plan would require massive amounts of water to be sprayed into the air in an effort to bolster the earth's existing air conditioning system. "First, the sprayed droplets would transform to water vapor, a change that absorbs thermal energy near ground level; then the rising vapor would condense into sunlight-reflecting clouds and cooling rain, releasing much of the stored energy into space in the form of infrared radiation. Kenneth Caldeira, a climate scientist for the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology at Stanford University whose computer simulation of Ace's invention suggests it would significantly cool the planet. The simulated evaporation of about one-half inch of additional water everywhere in the world produced immediate planetary cooling effects that were projected to reach nearly 1 degree Fahrenheit within 20 or 30 years, Caldeira said."
A Little Known Maryland Scientist Has Made Public
YES! We have a new winner for most descriptive Slashdot headline EVAR!
AntiFA: An abbreviation for Anti First Amendment.
Isn't water vapor one of the biggest greenhouse gasses?
Mind the frickin' laser...
That really does take the cake for a poorly written title. Seriously - how long does it take to write a dozen thoughtful words, then check it??
1) Where does the energy come from to spray this water?
2) Clouds are fickle where temperature is concerned. Depending on the type of cloud, they can either raise or lower the temperature. (The article, I see, also notes this.) This is one of the trickiest points of climate modeling, if memory serves.
3) Water vapor is also a particularly powerful greenhouse gas. Pumping a lot more of it into the air could exacerbate the problem rather than fix it. (Also noted in the article, but not actually discussed.)
"No sir, I do not believe you are 'doing your part to prevent global warming.' Now please stop spitting. No, I don't believe the other patrons need to be cooled."
Yes, let's fix the planet by changing the environment in more weird ways. That ought to work.
Obama has appointed him as Secretary of the Absurd.
Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K.
As I dig out from several feet of snow, I'm not entirely sure I want the earth cooler.
Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
... the energy expenditure of putting the water into the air?
Unless he has a carbon-neutral method of doing that, too...
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
I know, it's just as silly as dropping a big ice cube into the ocean.
The OP is a brilliant literary artist.
I kept waiting for the second half of that sentence, but then *BAM* period. End of sentence. I was all like, "WOAH! This guy's messing with my brain by defying the convention of the written word!"
If you don't understand the OP, then you don't appreciate avant-garde literature.
Dewey, you fool! Your decimal system has played right into my hands!
Right! We just rely on voluntary emissions reductions from the people of the world to counter global warming! Not an impractical crackpot scheme at all!
The World Wide Web is dying. Soon, we shall have only the Internet.
Someone has gone and done it. They have PATENTED vaporware! Now every company that promises to deliver software and never does will be sued by this clown!
I wonder if this idea will ever
Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
"A Little Known Maryland Scientist Has Made Public" .....And then he ACCIDENTALLY THE WHOLE THING
I made in public once.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Even more fun, wator vapor provides the vast majority of the greenhouse effect (95%?). CO2 is more like 2% of the greenhouse effect. Somehow, combatting CO2 emissions by adding water vapor emissions doesn't quite seem like the right answer.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
I think this gem earns a "whatcouldpossiblygoright".
Virginia is for lovers. EVE is for griefers.
Water has one of the best heat transfers, so by having the water evaporate, you cool the surrounding area. This is what happens when you sweat, for example.
The other thing is that clouds are highly reflective, so the sunlight would never even reach the ground in the first place.
So I can see how these two effects would offset the greenhouse effect.
In any case, doing this would be catastrophic for another reason : what goes up must come down. And where will all this water vapor come down as and where, exactly ? Does southern asia really need more rain ? Does buffalo need more snow ? Can an arid region cope with a high increase in rainfall without causing massive mud slides and other nastiness ? What other unforeseen consequences will putting vast amounts water vapor in the atmosphere have ? These are all questions I hope we never have a definite answer for.
Capture a 150ft (50m) asteroid and throw it into the middle of the Atlantic. That will rise A LOT of water into the atmosphere. Remember, you heard it first from me.
Seriously - how long does it take to write a dozen thoughtful words, then check it??
Find out in the upcoming /. article "Slashdot Editors Have Checked"
What scares me is that genuine concern over global warming could spur popular support for one of these crackpot schemes.
"Green" activists, in their self righteous zeal to save the planet, have latched on to global warming as a means to further their anti-pollution, anti-industrial political agendas. These self appointed do-gooders *know* they're right, since their well-meaning desire to help others justifies any means to their end. This movement echos the "silent spring" hysteria used by the environmental movement to ban DDT in the 1960's & '70's. In that case, while increased regulation of industrial chemicals was undoubtedly a good thing, unscientific hysteria designed to move public opinion at all costs was definitely not.
Planetary climatology is an extremely immature science at best, and I sincerely doubt that any climatologist worth his salt would back any action other than reduction in the gas emissions believed to contribute to climate change.
I have mod points. The reign of terror begins now.
That's a feature
Spelling and Grammar errors have been added to this post for your enjoyment
Actually, if you live in a very dry, desert climate, this works. All across Sun Valley in arizona (Phoenix, Scottsdale, etc), you'll find misters, a kind of out door A/C which sprays mists of water into the air. It uses very little water, but makes a very noticeable difference in temperature. The temperature in coverage area becomes comfortable enough for out door dining in summer. On a small scale, this works well... so isn't this prior art?
Thats because everyone here (obviously except you) knows about Kenneth Caldeira, which in one point during last year.
839*929
Because a chemical in small quantities inside a house can have very different effects from that same chemical in the atmosphere.
Just look at ozone: in a house, it is toxic with no benefits unless you want to sterilize a room.
In the upper atmosphere, it is a very important protection against UV.
If I have nothing to hide, don't search me
When are you grammer nazis going to learn, english doenst have rules of grammer, they are more like suggestions than rules.
Same goes for spelling and punctuation, I suppose.
Quidnam Latine loqui modo coepi?