Reduction in the burning of fossil fuels is an ideal solution to arrest the global warming problem. Professors John Latham and Stephen Salter have designed a fleet of yachts (wind-powered unmanned vessel) that would pump fine particles of sea-water into clouds, thickening them to reflect more of the Sun’s rays.
Calculations show that if there is about 3% increase in the amount of sunlight reflected back into the space, the cooling will balance the global warming caused by increased CO2 in the atmosphere.
There would be the need to spray sea-water droplets continuously over a significant fraction of the world’s oceanic surface, at a total rate of around 50 cubic meters per second for producing adequate cooling.
The amount of cooling could be controlled, via satellite measurements and a computer model. In addition to global temperature stabilisation, the technique could be used to remedy more regional problems, such as dying of the coral reefs as a result of ocean warming.
The plan is ecologically benign in which only sea water is required as raw material. In this scheme there is a possibility of buying time within which catastrophic warming could be staved off and carbon dioxide levels are being reduced to an acceptable degree.
Source: BBC
