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Geoengineering would turn blue skies whiter
New Scientist ^ | 6/1/12 | Jeff Hecht

Posted on 06/03/2012 1:43:53 PM PDT by LibWhacker

Blue skies would fade to hazy white if geoengineers inject light-scattering aerosols into the upper atmosphere to offset global warming. Critics have already warned that this might happen, but now the effect has been quantified.

Releasing sulphate aerosols high in the atmosphere should in theory reduce global temperatures by reflecting a small percentage of the incoming sunlight away from the Earth. However, the extra particles would also scatter more of the remaining light into the atmosphere. This would reduce by 20 per cent the amount of sunlight that takes a direct route to the ground, and it would increase levels of softer, diffuse scattered light, says Ben Kravitz of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Stanford, California.

That would have knock-on effects for life – and human technology. The reduction in direct sunlight would impact the solar industry, which relies on direct sunlight to generate much of its power. But the increased indirect sunlight would boost photosynthesis beneath tree canopies. The most visible effect, though, would be above us.

The blue colour of the clear sky comes from light being scattering by molecules in the air. The scattering is much stronger for short blue wavelengths than for longer red wavelengths. Aerosol particles are much larger than molecules in the air, however, and they scatter red light more strongly, which washes out the blue light scattered by smaller molecules and makes the sky brighter and whiter.

(Excerpt) Read more at newscientist.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: blue; geoengineering; global; skies; warming; whiter
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To: lacrew
Even if the earth were warming, why would that be a bad thing?

That depends: How attached are you to coastal cities?

21 posted on 06/03/2012 2:15:36 PM PDT by Melas (u)
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To: LibWhacker

If they attack the atmosphere of this planet, that will be an act of war.


22 posted on 06/03/2012 2:20:14 PM PDT by Theophilus (Not merely prolife, but prolific)
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To: LibWhacker

Of course the winds in the Stratosphere wouldn't move these particles around at all ,now would they?
23 posted on 06/03/2012 2:20:46 PM PDT by moose07 (The truth will out, one day.)
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To: LibWhacker

UMMM Y’all are several years behind the curve on this, they’ve already been doing it according to the conspiracy theorist... You ever heard of Chem trails?
I’m just saying..... wake up sheeple


24 posted on 06/03/2012 2:23:08 PM PDT by WP Lonestar (No matter where you go, there you are)
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To: LibWhacker

These are probably the same idiots that wanted to spread oil over arctic snow to combat global cooling.


25 posted on 06/03/2012 2:28:21 PM PDT by VeniVidiVici (Congrats to Ted Kennedy! He's been sober for two years now!!)
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To: LibWhacker

This is the equivalent of giving very strong chemotherapy to a perfectly healthy, cancer free patient simply because you can.


26 posted on 06/03/2012 2:32:55 PM PDT by muir_redwoods (I like Obamacare because Granny signed the will and I need the cash)
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To: LibWhacker

OH WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG HERE!!


27 posted on 06/03/2012 2:32:55 PM PDT by Samurai_Jack (ride out and confront the evil!)
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To: LibWhacker

Oh, goody!! A “hold my beer and watch this!!” moment on a global scale. And let’s not forget the Law of Unintended Consequences. Nothing good can come from this......


28 posted on 06/03/2012 2:42:51 PM PDT by Donkey Odious (I can explain it to you. I can't understand it for you.)
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To: LibWhacker

It’s like ObamaCare you’ll never know what it can do until after you’ve got it and it’s to late to stop it.


29 posted on 06/03/2012 2:49:33 PM PDT by fella ("As it was before Noah, so shall it be again.")
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To: LibWhacker

Burning witches to appease the sun-gods would be less polluting, and just about as reasonable.


30 posted on 06/03/2012 2:54:10 PM PDT by PGR88
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To: LibWhacker

Can’t they just go play with Venus or Mars and leave us the hell alone...


31 posted on 06/03/2012 3:02:30 PM PDT by Kakaze (I want the Republic back !)
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To: LibWhacker

He’s far, far past just plain “imbecile”.


32 posted on 06/03/2012 3:04:02 PM PDT by Carriage Hill (All liberals & most demoncraps think that life is just a sponge bath, with a happy ending.)
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To: carriage_hill

.


33 posted on 06/03/2012 3:05:06 PM PDT by Carriage Hill (All libs & most dems think that life is just a sponge bath, with a happy ending.)
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To: Cicero

They already are geo-engineering. Geesh. It’s published!


34 posted on 06/03/2012 3:22:47 PM PDT by SaraJohnson
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To: Melas

The climate is in a contant state of temp flux. It goes up and then it goes down. Uuuup. Doooown. Life on earth has to adjust to it and for some, it is deadly and for others it is great. Depends on where you live and how adaptable you are.

Liberals love unnatural change - change they invent and impose. It makes them feel godly. But they seem to have a real problem with the change they can not control - natural change.


35 posted on 06/03/2012 3:28:14 PM PDT by SaraJohnson
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To: Steely Tom

right on the money


36 posted on 06/03/2012 3:32:37 PM PDT by sgtyork (The secret of happiness is freedom, and the secret of freedom, courage. Thucydides)
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To: LibWhacker

Once the aerosol particles are in the atmosphere, they’d be hard to control or remove. This is a potential trigger for the next ice age.
Then again, we’d have one if the mega-volcano under Yosemite or Santorini blow up, too.


37 posted on 06/03/2012 4:05:32 PM PDT by tbw2
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To: SaraJohnson

A lot of evidence suggests the world was much warmer than today until the Himalayas formed 40 million years ago, triggering the ice ages.
Based on overall Earth’s history, we’re still colder than average.


38 posted on 06/03/2012 4:10:43 PM PDT by tbw2
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To: Melas

The coastal cities are liberal, hmmmm......


39 posted on 06/03/2012 4:27:12 PM PDT by wrencher
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To: LibWhacker
Releasing sulphate aerosols high in the atmosphere...

Sulphate aerosols? Really? As in sulfur dioxide? Isn't this the stuff the clean air freaks had scrubbed from smoke stacks? ... and now they're going to dump it in the atmosphere. Brilliant.

40 posted on 06/03/2012 4:49:50 PM PDT by 6SJ7 (Meh.)
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