I wrote this as COP26 started in Glasgow. I did not expect anything to emerge from that meeting that will even slow the rise in global warming, let alone stop it. Good intentions but little action. Even if so-called ‘net zero’ (NZ) were achieved, the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere would still cause the temperature to rise. But NZ will not be achieved. The dire effects outlined by Mark Lynas in his book Our Final Warning: Six Degrees of Climate Emergency look likely to occur, no matter what global agreement is reached: overbearing heat and fires everywhere; rising sea level drowning large areas, including many cities; violent weather events and mass migration as people try to escape the worst effects. Civilization could collapse.
But there is a way to stop the temperature rising if not to stop greenhouse gas emissions. Global warming has two causes: too much greenhouse gas is the atmosphere and heat from the sun. If one cannot reduce the greenhouse gases, perhaps one can reduce insolation. This would not save the oceans from acidification but it would give us more time to get the greenhouse gas emissions down.
Of course the latter could only be done by some kind of geoengineering, a technical fix to cool the planet. Many methods have been suggested, including sunshades is space. But one man who lives in Edinburgh (Scotland) has a practical solution. He can save civilization!
I refer to engineer Emeritus Professor Stephen Salter of the University of Edinburgh. He has taken an idea by John Latham (1990) and developed it, suggesting the deployment of a fleet of special ships that spray fine seawater to create clouds with small droplets (the smaller the droplets the greater the reflectivity of a cloud). This cleverly makes use of Earth’s existing cooling mechanism (clouds), enhancing them to increase the planet’s albedo, reducing the global temperature and with the effect of reducing sea level.
This idea has been championed by the Centre for Climate Repair in Cambridge, especially Professor Sir David King (one time scientific adviser to the UK Government). See his answers to questions put by Channel 4 News at http://bit.ly/3hJBmT3. Nothing has been heard from him since!
There are those who strongly oppose any form of solar geoengineering. The US National Intelligence Council claimed that disputes could arise if countries 'unilaterally test and deploy solar geoengineering' to cool the planet. That is probably true but the failure to deploy it will lead to even greater disputes as countries struggle with the effects of global warming and the mass migration it is likely to create. Which would they prefer? Naturally it should be deployed with international agreement, perhaps via the United Nations Organization.
At some point the world will realize that nothing they do is effective and that some desperate fix is required. When London, New York and Shanghai, for example, are under water and countries are burning, minds will be changed.
Meanwhile Prof Salter has little scientific support and no funding. That is a pity. He can save civilization but who is interested? He was not been invited to speak at COP26 and is ignored.
But there is a way to stop the temperature rising if not to stop greenhouse gas emissions. Global warming has two causes: too much greenhouse gas is the atmosphere and heat from the sun. If one cannot reduce the greenhouse gases, perhaps one can reduce insolation. This would not save the oceans from acidification but it would give us more time to get the greenhouse gas emissions down.
Of course the latter could only be done by some kind of geoengineering, a technical fix to cool the planet. Many methods have been suggested, including sunshades is space. But one man who lives in Edinburgh (Scotland) has a practical solution. He can save civilization!
I refer to engineer Emeritus Professor Stephen Salter of the University of Edinburgh. He has taken an idea by John Latham (1990) and developed it, suggesting the deployment of a fleet of special ships that spray fine seawater to create clouds with small droplets (the smaller the droplets the greater the reflectivity of a cloud). This cleverly makes use of Earth’s existing cooling mechanism (clouds), enhancing them to increase the planet’s albedo, reducing the global temperature and with the effect of reducing sea level.
This idea has been championed by the Centre for Climate Repair in Cambridge, especially Professor Sir David King (one time scientific adviser to the UK Government). See his answers to questions put by Channel 4 News at http://bit.ly/3hJBmT3. Nothing has been heard from him since!
There are those who strongly oppose any form of solar geoengineering. The US National Intelligence Council claimed that disputes could arise if countries 'unilaterally test and deploy solar geoengineering' to cool the planet. That is probably true but the failure to deploy it will lead to even greater disputes as countries struggle with the effects of global warming and the mass migration it is likely to create. Which would they prefer? Naturally it should be deployed with international agreement, perhaps via the United Nations Organization.
At some point the world will realize that nothing they do is effective and that some desperate fix is required. When London, New York and Shanghai, for example, are under water and countries are burning, minds will be changed.
Meanwhile Prof Salter has little scientific support and no funding. That is a pity. He can save civilization but who is interested? He was not been invited to speak at COP26 and is ignored.
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