Any Better Ideas?

By Many scientists would like to find a way to reverse global warming without cutting greenhouse emissions drastically. Some of the Monday, Nov. 13, 2000
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proposed fixes make sense, some make nonsense. Here are a few:

Iron the sea

Large areas of ocean are nearly devoid of CO2-gobbling phytoplankton. Seeding these areas with a mixture of iron sulfate and a weak acid could cause a dramatic bloom of marine microorganisms that draw thousands of tons of CO2 out of the air and pull it to the bottom of the sea.

Objection: Tinkering with nature on such a massive scale could have unforeseen consequences.

Kill the cows

The tailpipe emissions of cattle, pigs and other livestock are a major source of methane, which may be a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2. Worldwide vegetarianism could make a major difference.

Objection: Politically unattainable.

Mirror images

Arrays of giant shiny panels could be put into orbit to reflect back enough sunlight to cool the earth.

Objection: That's a lot of mirrors.

Big balloon

Same idea as mirrors, but using millions of silvery mylar balloons instead.

Objection: That's a lot of balloons.

White city

Reflect heat away by painting roofs white and using light-colored materials for highways,parking lots and even cars.

Objection: That's a lot of white paint.

Shoot soot

Launch large quantities of soot into the stratosphere to increase cloud cover.

Objection: The soot would come from burning carbon-laden material, and that creates greenhouse gases.