Global subspace sun-shield?

[pollypopperpop]

hey.
i was just watching a documentry prog about Global Dimming and had a thought.

we know that global dimming is caused by airbourne particles blockin out sunlight which Cools the earth.
*too much particles would cool the earth but is bad for air quality, yet
*too little particles would improve air quality but allows more sunlight to shine through earth = heat up earth, which leads to the second problem..

Global Warming caused by the buildup of gases such as CO2 which traps in the heat that has been shining through the earth.
*more greenhouse gases = traps more heat = hotter.
*more sunlight allowed through to earth = more heat energy supplied into the greenhouse effect system = hotter.


what i thought is, to deal with that last point,
what if there was an ambitious plan to construct a sort of sub-space sunlight shield blanket on a grand scale?
the shield would orbit inbetween the sun and earth, blocking out PART of the suns ray (much like during an eclipse) and controlling the levels of sunlight energy entering the earth. it might also be variable in size?

also what if there's a solar panel powerstation on the other side of the shield facing the sun? which converts the sunlight blocked from earth into electricity that is then beamed down to earth?

it might not solve the core prob of global warming but may provide more time to deal with the greenhouse gases before tragedy.

take care yall.

[bejohnson]

hey.
i was just watching a documentry prog about Global Dimming and had a thought.

we know that global dimming is caused by airbourne particles blockin out sunlight which Cools the earth.
*too much particles would cool the earth but is bad for air quality, yet
*too little particles would improve air quality but allows more sunlight to shine through earth = heat up earth, which leads to the second problem..

Global Warming caused by the buildup of gases such as CO2 which traps in the heat that has been shining through the earth.
*more greenhouse gases = traps more heat = hotter.
*more sunlight allowed through to earth = more heat energy supplied into the greenhouse effect system = hotter.


what i thought is, to deal with that last point,
what if there was an ambitious plan to construct a sort of sub-space sunlight shield blanket on a grand scale?
the shield would orbit inbetween the sun and earth, blocking out PART of the suns ray (much like during an eclipse) and controlling the levels of sunlight energy entering the earth. it might also be variable in size?

also what if there's a solar panel powerstation on the other side of the shield facing the sun? which converts the sunlight blocked from earth into electricity that is then beamed down to earth?

it might not solve the core prob of global warming but may provide more time to deal with the greenhouse gases before tragedy.

take care yall.

Check out this URL: http://www.livescience.com/technology/050627_warming_solution.html

[pollypopperpop]

ooh gr8 find :Thumb

[CyberGuy]

If the build up of CO2 is the cause of the greenhouse effect, then maybe planting a lot more trees will help.

Photosynthesis converts CO2 into Oxygen. The mass destruction of the equatorial rain forests has drastically reduced the ability of plant life to do this on the planetary scale.

We live in a closed ecosystem where everything is interdependent. If you interfere with one part of that ecosystem, all life suffers. We are seeing that in action right now.

You want to reduce the greenhouse effect and accellerated global warming? Plant lots of trees!

[pollypopperpop]

^ that could be done if it weren't for the ever increasing volume/needs/ resources/greed/wastage of human population.
e.g. if every family had 2 siblings which could double the overall population, coupled with our endless needs, the earths sustainability wouldn't stand a chance for long.
hmm didn't i remember china tried to control childbirth down to 1 sibling per parent one time?

ooh i did a uni essay recently bout Sustainable Product Design and when i analysed the past, present and possible future conditions, i suggested an interesting point

"Could the future be moving towards the past?"
meaning that to be sustainable, civilisation might have to actually progress backwards?

initially there was a small community...then the population boom resulted in massive growth of human civilisation = more ppl, more structures, more cars, more more more...till tday

and the suggestions of now: using less cars, switch off lights when not used, consuming less "junk" products, Conservation etc might seem to suggest that trend.

[pollypopperpop]

hmm planting loadsa trees is one point. yeah photosynthesis converts CO2 and H2O to release oxygen and the tree absorbs the Carbon within it.

if ya remember the Carbon Cycle. trees n plants absorb & converts it from gases into a managable solid form using solar energy, yet we are trying to extract and burn em for their potential energy (suns energy), doing so releases the Carbon back into the air but at a greater rate.

we should find a way of absorbing the same amount (if not more) of carbon as we are releasing it.

is there a technology which can replicate photosynthesis? i remember "CO2 Scrubbers" can absorb the gas to a certain degree.

[CyberGuy]

You are absolutely right.

Living in a closed ecosystem requires consideration of the consequences of your actions. Closed systems are like that - they can compensate a little imbalance (i.e. increasing populations) as long as they can increase or reduce the other parts of itself to rebalance. But throwing it too far off balance (Huge CO2 emissions from artificial sources) will destroy it (and us). It ends up having a snowball effect that will cause the ecosystem to literally consume itself.

Now for this sun-shield. By reducing certain wavelengths of light (i.e. UV), you may inadvertently reduce the ability of life to mutate. No one knows the full effect that cutting back certain wavelengths will cause. For instance Ultraviolet light may very well play an important part in mutational adaptation as well as keeping various forms of bacteria from growing oout of control. If we reduce the amount of UV light from hitting the earth's surface, what will the long term effects be? No one knows, and until they do for certain, it is best not to fool with it in ignorance.

Another problem is that this sub-space blanket would have to be huge - on a planetary scale to be effective. It would have to be able to wrap the entire planet, except for maybe the poles to be useful. How would you make it, store it, get it into orbit? How would the various space shuttles get into space to repair the various satellites?

Also, the Earth is constantly being bombarded by meteors and other space debris. This debris is travelling faster than any bullet or missile and usually burns up as it passes through our atmosphere before it has a chance to hit the planet's surface. Because of its size, all this space debris will destroy this blanket within days. To make it strong enough to withstand this kind of bombardment without being too heavy to maintain its orbit is not technically possible now or in the forseeable future.

Finally, space is not as empty as you would expect. It is full of things like elements and gasses, some of which are captured by the earth's gravitational field as it moves along its orbit. These captured gasses and elements augument and help sustain the planetary resources. Having a blanket blocking this would cause the Earth's atmospheric resources to dwindle over time (measured in millions of years) until Earth ends up like Mars.

[egarrard]

If the build up of CO2 is the cause of the greenhouse effect, then maybe planting a lot more trees will help.

Photosynthesis converts CO2 into Oxygen. The mass destruction of the equatorial rain forests has drastically reduced the ability of plant life to do this on the planetary scale.

We live in a closed ecosystem where everything is interdependent. If you interfere with one part of that ecosystem, all life suffers. We are seeing that in action right now.

You want to reduce the greenhouse effect and accellerated global warming? Plant lots of trees!I guess we need to stop eating salads and go whack the vegans too. Eating nothing but plants must be contributing to Global Warming.

[CyberGuy]

I guess we need to stop eating salads and go whack the vegans too. Eating nothing but plants must be contributing to Global Warming.

Good point! :lmao Cut it out you guys! :smash