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Cloud Ships May Be Used To Fight Global Warming

Posted on: Friday, 7 August 2009, 12:00 CDT

Climate experts say a fleet of wind-powered ships could be one of the more feasible solutions of climate engineering to reduce global warming.

The Copenhagen Consensus on Climate has released an analysis paper that addresses a variety of proposed climate engineering options.

The paper was written to address the question: “If the global community wants to spend up to, say $250 billion per year over the next 10 years to diminish the adverse effects of climate changes, and to do most good for the world, which solutions would yield the greatest net benefits? – i.e. what are the costs
and benefits of different viable climate interventions…given some reasonable assumptions about sensible policies for the rest of 21st century?”

One of the most popular options among experts would be to deploy a fleet of 1,900 wind-powered ships that would draw water from the ocean to produce plumes of seawater mist that would create white clouds.

Scientists predict that the clouds would be able to reflect about 1 to 2 percent of sunlight that would otherwise be fixed on the ocean, adding to its temperature.

The concept has been largely embraced due to its estimated cost not to exceed $9 billion, which pales in comparison to the $250 billion to be spent by leading nations each year in order to reduce carbon emissions.

The project is also much cheaper that another engineering option that would send mirrors into space to deflect the sun’s rays.
Additionally the cloud ship fleet would be ready to begin within 25 years.

The Copenhagen Consensus Center is an organization that grants advice to government regulators on which areas to spend financial aid.



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Source: redOrbit staff

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User Comments (5)

5. Posted by Roger on 08/10/2009, 07:07
Sounds pretty harmless. Anything that helps slow < ahref="http://www.oxfam.org.uk/get_involved/campaign/climate_change/">global warming has to be a move in the right direction and deserves support
4. Posted by Boredkid on 08/07/2009, 21:52
First of all . ITS WIND POWERED did noone read that? but dooley has a point. There just has to be more study.
3. Posted by dooley on 08/07/2009, 16:25
it's not expensive if it works it would be an extremely low cost relative to other proposed climate change abatement strategies, however there doesn't seem to be solid science behind it. Bjorn Lomborg, renowned pseudoscientist, is behind this organization which makes any findings by it pretty dubious. Clouds where I'm from don't just reflect sunlight, they also trap heat, which can be a problem it your trying to cool the planet.
2. Posted by Commander on 08/07/2009, 15:09
Troy is right. This proposal is insane, incredibly expensive, wasteful, and of course, stupid. The ongoing belief that the same kind of atmospheric haze caused by pollution is what causes global warming through green house gas trapping is somehow now going to do the exact opposite and reverse global warming, ie: man made climate change?
1. Posted by Troy on 08/07/2009, 13:14
THis is great - NOT. What next? How about a white dye in the ocean? Yeah, we could put billions of gallons of a white dye into the ocean and turn it white. Good grief. I wonder how much energy it would take to run these 1900 could ships? Perhaps enough energy to counteract what they're supposed to do anything. Why are we trying to stop a naturally occuring warming planet in the first place???

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