#22 - Blowing Up The Planet To Save It

Is The World F*cked?

It doesn’t get scarier than this! After a listener request, we’re talking geoengineering schemes to solve climate change. You know, small things, like using nukes to knock planet Earth further away from the sun.
Dr Bruce divines the crazy from the casually insane, then details the schemes that serious scientists really are considering before going truly dark with the experiments people are conducting right now - without your permission.
Here are a few to get you thinking:

• Space reflectors. Blocking a small proportion of sunlight before it reaches the Earth.
• Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement. Grinding up, dispersing, and dissolving rocks such as limestone, silicates, or calcium hydroxide in the ocean to increase its ability to store carbon and directly ameliorate ocean acidification
• Albedo enhancement. Increasing the reflectiveness of clouds or the land surface so that more of the Sun’s heat is reflected back into space.
• Stratospheric aerosols. Introducing small, reflective particles into the upper atmosphere to reflect some sunlight before it reaches the surface of the Earth.
• Ocean Fertilisation. Adding nutrients to the ocean in selected locations to increase primary production which draws down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

WARNING: if this episode doesn’t scare you rigid, nothing will. Hey, has anyone still got some spare tickets to Mars?

And for the record, when we're doing real work and not podcasting, you'll find Dr Bruce, The Global Futurist presenting here and PJ applying his digital marketing genius here. Enjoy!