Posted on 01/31/2008 9:41:19 AM PST by forkinsocket
It may sound like science fiction, but it’s only a matter of time before the world’s militaries learn to wield the planet itself as a weapon.
Preventing global warming from becoming a planetary catastrophe may take something even more drastic than renewable energy, superefficient urban design, and global carbon taxes. Such innovations remain critical, and yet disruptions to the Earth’s climate could overwhelm these relatively slow, incremental changes in how we live. As reports of faster-than-expected climate changes mount, a growing number of experts worry that we might ultimately be forced to try something quite radical: geoengineering.
Geoengineering involves humans making intentional, large-scale modifications to the Earth’s geophysical systems in order to change the environment. These can include sequestering atmospheric carbon dioxide in the oceans, changing the reflectivity of the Earth’s surface, and pumping particles into the stratosphere to block a fraction of incoming sunlight. Many of these proposals mimic natural events, so we know that—in principle—they can work, although there is insufficient understanding of their potential side effects. Unsurprisingly, geoengineering is highly controversial, and even proponents view it as a “Hail Mary” pass, to be considered only after all other options have failed.
But geoengineering presents more than just an environmental question. It also presents a geopolitical dilemma. With processes of this magnitude and degree of uncertainty, countries would inevitably argue over control, costs, and liability for mistakes. More troubling, however, is the possibility that states may decide to use geoengineering efforts and technologies as weapons. Two factors make this a danger we dismiss at our peril: the unequal impact of climate changes, and the ability of small states and even nonstate actors to attempt geoengineering.
(Excerpt) Read more at foreignpolicy.com ...
“Could you get back to me when the Temperature raises to about 80 degress.
Its 20 degrees snowing and my plow just quit on me.
“
Ditto! Here in Colorado we’ve had an extrmely cold two winters in a row. We’ve been having single digit temps night after night and that is unusal for this place.
I wonder what ever happened to the Luddites of the 60’s and 70’s who told us we would all be starving by now because the planet was running out of food.
Oh, and those Luddites who said we need to ban CFCs because of the Ozone hole. Funny thing, it’s still there even after banning CFCs, yet, we hear nothing from the Luddites about this. They got their way to ban another man-made substance and then shut up.
Grand Cannon - The Grand Cannon was a much more powerful Reflex weapon which built up the charge in a giant underground shaft secretly built in Alaska. The beam, whose energy is derived from the Earth's gravity, could be adjusted during firing and was great enough to destroy countless numbers of Zentraedi warships orbiting the Earth. Unfortunately, the Grand Cannon was damaged shortly after obliterating a huge group of ships of the Zentraedi's Imperial Fleet.
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