Eco Factor: Making artificial clouds to prevent the sun’s rays from heating the planet.
Climate change is a result of rapid industrialization and our quest to possess the latest in technology, which only came after emitting tremendous amounts of greenhouses gases that lead to the increase in the average temperature of the planet. Though a reduction in carbon emissions and use of renewable energy systems is considered the best way to curb the effects of global warming, researchers are considering possible ways to reduce the effect at a lesser cost and in less time.
New research has found that using wind-powered ships to create clouds by spraying seawater into the air could be the most cost-effective way of tackling climate change. Known as Marine Cloud Whitening, the technique will require a fleet of 2,000 special ships that will suck up seawater and spray it upwards using tall funnels.
By adding saltwater into the air, tiny nuclei will be created around which clouds will form and get bigger and whiter, thus bouncing the rays of the sun back into space. The best feature of the technique is that it can do so at a fraction of the cost other outrageous schemes require. The plan can be accomplished to wipe out the effects of climate change for this century in for more than £5.3 billion, which is about 25 times less than the £140 billion cost of developing the alternative stratospheric aerial insertion.
The researchers did point out that though cheap and immediate, the system would just mask the effects of global warming and is not a long-term solution to the problem. The best way still is to reduce carbon emissions and to use renewable energy.
