Britain’s prestigious scientific society, the Royal Society, has published a new study detailing five final-resort schemes to prevent global warming from destroyingthe planet.

THe Royal Society is proposing ‘geoengineering’ solutions to the problem.

“It is an unpalatable truth that unless we can succeed in greatly reducing (greenhouse gas) emissions, we are headed for a very uncomfortable and challenging climate future,” said study leader Professor John Shepherd, an earth scientist at the
University of Southampton.

The Royal Society is recommending serious consideration be given to five ideas toreduce global warming:

1) ‘Volcanic Droplets’

When volcanoes erupt they eject tiny droplets of sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere. The droplets reflect some of the sun’s rays reducing global warming.

The researchers are recommending that artificial droplets be released from aircraft or balloons.

But the study estimates that millions of tonnes of these droplets would need to be released annually, costing billions of dollars.

However, the researchers still think that would be cost effective.

2) ‘Seawater Mist’

Idea number 2 is to use computer-controlled ships to pump seawater mist into the air in remote areas.This would encourage low, thick clouds to form, which would reflect sunlight back into space.

Again, a large-enough fleet of such ships would cost billions of dollars. The study’s authors also think that this would be a cost-effective measure.

3) Reflective Discs

The researchers are proposing that huge mirrors or thin, reflective disks be put into orbit alongside Earth in order to block solar rays.

These approaches would be safe, with little in the way of side effects, according to the Royal Society’s study.

4) Plant More Trees

Trees absorb enormous amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. Planting more forests is probably the best way of reducing climate change. The researchers thought that natural trees could be complemented with artificial ones that collect CO2 and seqestrate it.

5) Dissolve Mountains Of Rock

Dissolving mountains of rock would speed up the natural process of rock weatheringwhich absorbs carbon dioxide.

There are problems with this approach. Large mines, consuming large amounts of energy, would be needed. Seawater would need to be chemically altered to produce an acid that would be sprayed over the
rocks. Again, this would require large amounts of energy.

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