Is There Time For Global Warming Mitigation?Nobody knows. Maybe we are past the point of no return, or maybe there is in fact still time to save ourselves. But where is the harm in pushing for environmentally sound changes? As opposed to, where is the harm in continuing as we are now? Of which the latter could be likened to throwing firewood at our feet in a brushfire. It is not helping.

Ron Carnell, Chris Pedlar, Jared SiversonUniversity of Washington-Bothell • BIS243 • Autumn 2007

Winds of up to 200 mph would spin the rotors of the “Flying Electric Generators” (FEGs), creating electricity, then sending it through tethers attached to the ground.

Space-Based Solar Power

Evidence indicates that current atmospheric CO2 levels are not only high and rising, but that the rate of increase is itself rising. This is primarily due to an increase in the number of polluting power plants and the reduction of coal purity as quality coal scarce (the more impure the coal, the more pollution created and less the efficiency). This unfavorable trend is what leads some scientists like Hoffert to advocate a push for new and revolutionary technologies.

As a country, China has the largest population on the planet. That fact coupled with their abundant supply of coal leads experts to project that China will soon become the number one polluter of greenhouse gasses, particularly CO2. This grim projection resulting in a worldwide net CO2 increase, in spite of anything that America might reasonably do to cut its own CO2 emissions, is called "Recarbonization.”

China’s Rising Emissions Output

CO2 Emissions

In just the past 50 years, CO2 levels have risen at a drastic rate. This severe rise in CO2 is why Hoffert says that mitigating global warming through current methods will merely delay the inevitable.

China’s dramatically increased projected CO2 output will soon undo any “decarbonizing” that could be accomplished, unless alternate methods are found that will be able to fuel less developed countries without being economically unfeasible.

Hoffert puts most of his faith into using Space based Solar Power (SSP) as the best way to produce carbon free energy. SSP includes launching a satellite into space, or station on the moon with huge photovoltaic arrays to harness the sun’s energy without the atmosphere diluting it, as there is about eight times as much sunlight. Other benefits over land based solar power are the consistency, in space darkness or clouds will not block the sun from the satellite. Once collected the energy is then beamed back through space to Earth in microwave form, much the same as cell phone towers. A problem with this however is that microwaves are harmful to the human body, and with the large amount of this energy we will be sending through the atmosphere, I think it would be reasonable to assume there would be some leakage that could cause health problems for some people.

Massive photovoltaic cells would “harvest” energy from the sun, convert it to electricity, and beam the energy to earth using microwaves.

Jet Stream Wind Turbines?Wind power is another popular topic when it comes to reducing CO2 emissions. Hoffert also suggests the possibility of harnessing the strong winds in the jet stream by suspending turbines to generate electricity constantly. What Hoffert does not mention is how those turbines will stay in one place and how the electricity will get back to ground stations. Other sources have suggested the turbines might be fastened to the earth by tethers, which would also send the generated electricity to the earth.

Energy Sources for the Future, TodayThe population of the world is facing an increasingly urgent need to curb CO2 emissions. Drastic changes in climate from human-caused global warming can be delayed by Socolow’s “busines as usual” approach, but our group agrees that investment in large-scale carbon-free energy alternatives is the most rational policy. The only difference between decreasing carbon emissions and taking no action at all, is likely just a few generations delay of a 500 ppm CO2 level. The cost of moving forward with SSP or jet stream wind turbines is intimidating, but it’s a fraction of what the federal government has already sunk into the “Star Wars” program, and the war in Iraq. No one knows for certain what events global warning will bring. However, nothing is ever lost when science errs on the side of caution.

Look To Your Future. No, Your Other Future.

Field Notes From a CatastropheChapter 7 - Business as Usual

NASA/MSFC (2007)

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NASA/MSFC (2007)

NASA/MSFC (2007)