Theatre of the absurd continued: Giant space umbrella

Following up on my story last week about GE’s big idea for using CO2 emissions, let’s continue with another seemingly wacky, repurposing concept again this week.  How about a giant space umbrella to solve the problem of global warming?

The race to find a solution to a rapidly warming world is one of the most pressing challenges facing our planet.

One proposal to try to halt this warming is literally out-of-this-world: a giant, space-based sunshade. We’re already modifying our climate by accident, so why not do it by deliberate geoengineering?

It’s a radical idea, and it just might just work. Reducing the amount of light reaching our planet could cool the Earth quickly, even with rising carbon dioxide levels. While the asteroid which helped wipe out the dinosaurs blocked out 90% of the Sun’s rays, we would need to divert just 2-4%, it's believed, to take the Earth back to its pre-industrial climate.

Tags