how can 'we' stop global warming?

Answer 1

See the answer I provided to your other question for how individuals can make a difference. In this answer I'll give you some details of larger scale schemes that are being considered...

Ambitious schemes have been proposed that would manipulate our climate through geoengineering. These contentious schemes include constructing a giant sunscreen to block out some of the sun’s heat and artificial trees to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. If these schemes are successful they could prevent global warming from getting worse and may be reverse the warming trend.

HUMAN VOLCANO
Volcanic eruptions emit large quantities of sulphur dioxide which blocks out some of the heat from the sun. One proposal is to simulate natural volcanoes by firing pellets of sulphur into the upper atmosphere where the particles of sulphur will reflect back some of the solar radiation.

SULPHUR BLANKET
Professor Crutzen's idea is to launch rockets into the stratosphere (10 to 50km above Earth's surface) and release one million tons of sulphur. This radical plan could have drawbacks including an increase in acid rain and damage to the ozone layer.

SOLAR MIRRORS
The US National Academy of Sciences has proposed a scheme that would involve positioning 55,000 gigantic mirrors in space. Each mirror would be 100 square kilometres in area and the effect would be to reflect some of the sun's heat energy back into space.

GLOBAL SUNSHADE
British astronomer Roger Angel has proposed creating a giant sunshade consisting of 16 trillion glass discs, each one microscopically thin and weighing just one gram. On board each disc would be a tiny camera, computer and solar sails allowing each disc to align itself so as to refract light from the sun just enough so it misses Earth.

MOVING EARTH
Perhaps the most ambitious of all schemes so far proposed is one to actually move planet Earth into a different orbit. It has been estimated that if Earth were 1.5 million miles further from the sun then the reduced heat energy received from the sun would compensate for anthropogenic global warming. It has calculated that the energy required to move the Earth this far would be the equivalent of 5 quadrillion hydrogen bombs (5,000,000,000,000,000).

CLOUD SEEDING
Cloud seeding isn't a new concept and one variation on this theme is to launch a fleet of self propelled vessels to sail the world's oceans and spray a fine mist of sea water particles into the atmosphere, this would produce specific clouds which would reflect some of the solar radiation back into space.

ARTIFICIAL TREES
In the artificial trees air passes through the device and hydrogen sulphide absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, each 'tree' could remove 90,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year. The carbon dioxide would need to be permanently stored and one option could be drilling holes thousands of metres deep into porous rock beneath the oceans into which the CO2 would be injected.

PHYTOPLANKTON
Phytoplankton are microscopic marine plants, like all plants they photosynthesise - taking in carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. Increasing the quantity of phytoplankton will result in more carbon dioxide being absorbed and when the plants die they sink to the ocean floor taking the carbon with them.

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Some of the ideas mentioned above formed a BBC documentary 'Five Ways to Save the World'. You can read more about them on the BBC Website, watch the programme trailer or watch the programme in full from Google Video.

BBC website - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/6298507.stm
Trailer - http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_6360000/newsid_6364700/6364731.stm?bw=bb&mp=rm
Google Video - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=286000425078890061

Answer 2

It has been said that the temperature on Earth is getting hotter. In Al Gore’s; "Inconvenient Truth," I heard that a footnote stated; “The Sun is getting hotter” (I have not seen the documentary or read anything on his findings). In DVM’s; "Inconvenient Fact," I heard that the temperature on Mars is getting hotter. At this point in time, I know of no humans living on Mars. Why is the temperature on Mars getting hotter? The Sun is getting hotter. How can we stop Global Warming? Keep in mind; I’m not saying that the Sun is the only reason for “Global Warming,” we have all polluted the Earth. Reducing pollution and conserving energy should be a goal of everyone.
My SOLUTION for Global Warming:
NASA sends a “Sun Shield” with memory metal into space. When deployed, the memory metal will stretch the shield into a large circle or a square. The space shuttle’s astronauts will put the shield into orbit at a location that will block some of the Sun’s rays over a spot on the ocean. This will decrease the Sun’s rays that hit the Earth. Thus, decreasing the surface and ocean temperatures. Because of the decrease in ocean temperature, the number of hurricanes should decrease. Yes, there are more benefits. The size, number of shields, and locations need to be determined. Again, we all need to decrease pollution and conserve on energy.
DVM
May, 2007
(Yes, this solution is being sent to decision makers)

Answer 3

first of all, looking through the answers, I see that most of the people don't answer the question: 'how can we stop global warming,' well, any number of ways. If you are Canadian, American or Australian, then every year, you produce roughly 20 TONS! on carbon dioxide! A large chunk of the carbon produced, is from industry, but the average home still produces far more. Here are some things you can do in your home:

1. Turn off appliances when they are not in use. Did you know that more electricity is used by appliances on standby, than in actual use? this goes for computers, T.V.'s and other electronic devises especially.

2. Use low flush toilets, but make sure that they are powerful enough, since if u have one that saves 50% of water, but if u have to flush twice, you save nothing.

3. Make sure your home is properly insulated. And if you say it cost to much, the consider the fact that you could save as much as 100 dollars a month from heating.

4. Think about investing in solar panels or windmills. But don't get to caught up. The largest windmill a houses structure can support is 4.2 meters. And it is LOUD, somewhere in the range of 60 decibels, almost as load a a radio (or a boom box for you old timers.) and.. heres the really big, big catch..... it can only provide 1.9% of the average household electricity, meaning that you would need almost 60 of them to power your house, and that would cot too much, seeing as you still need normal means of power for calm days. Solar panels, as they can only be used on on side of the house/roof, are very inefficient, and although there are low carbon ways of making them, the production of them produces a large number of pollutants.

5.Keep abreast of new technology. Did you know that in Germany, they have houses that can heat and cool the house, and water, without the use of any power? and they only cost slightly more than the average house, and in some countries the government offers tax cuts for using technology like it? it works by running pipes around 160 feet underground, were the temperature stays roughly the same all year long, meaning that in the winter, air can be run down, cooled, and pumped back up, with the use of a small amount of electricity able to be provided by a combination of windmills and solar panels.

5. support funding and projects to find/make alternative energy sources. If every one worked on/supported them, than we could find even more ways to help save the planet.

There are thousands more ways, and I don't have time to list them all, so just use common sense, and read on the topic!

Hope I helped....

Cooldog08~
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~by the way I'm 13.... so don't tell me its to hard to learn and read, because I'm not buying it............................................
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Answer 4

Since this whole global thing has really hit the fore front of everyones minds, I have heard of many solutions, however the most startling claim I heard is that even if everyone stopped using fossil fuel today, it would take twenty five years for the process to begin to reverse. As far as a solution goes, we are going to have to get off I high horse of wanting to be the only one right, and put several ideas into play, including solar, wind, hydro, and nuclear forms for electrical generation. Force to the automakers, and oil companies to bring out some of the inventions that have already been done that allows auto to run on alternative fuels, yes they are there. The problem is getting these to the consumer, is somebody else will lose billions of dollars in income, sorry Exxon.

Answer 5

THE CONCEPT – " Apple-trees "


The concept is this: On Apple's outstanding internet store, ITunes you set up the possibility to buy an "Apple-tree". This will be a non-profit project where the income goes to funding the project itself, aside from a small handling charge. (I know that this sounds bad for a commercial enterprise, but I predict that this will really establish Apple as an environmentally conscious company.)


An "Apple-tree" is an audio- and/or a video-file where (hopefully!) Al Gore will thank you for buying an "Apple-tree". He will then explain to you that by buying an "Apple-tree" you are actually buying endangered rainforests in the tropical belt around the world, which by itself is not enough to save the world but is an important contribution. Then he will give you a new tip with every purchase of an "Apple-tree", of what you can do yourself to give the earth the upper hand in the battle against oblivion. There are several enterprises today that are planting or protecting the rainforest, so Apple would mainly be the front-end marketing arm.



I predict that with your Apple's impact on society, and how the conscientious consumers want to participate; this would be a way of getting control over the situation. In the near future people would meet at work, in school, in the neighbourhood and at home to compare the number of trees they have "planted".



This is good brand-building. Apple will make even more money while you are saving the planet.



Now, doesn't that sound cool?

Dag Skaug

[e-mail]

Answer 6

We humans are sure arrogant little buggers to think we even make a dent in the climate of the earth!
This misconception of human activity causing "global warming" or "global climate change" has been a deception from the beginning.
If you go back to the 1970's every one was freaking out about "global cooling" and the return of the ice-age.
Does anybody remember the Mt. Pinatubo(?) volcanic euruption back in the 1990's which scientists say put out more material into the atmosphere in a few days than humans have ever put our from their activities of burning fuels of any kind since the discovery of fire.
I hope all of you will take the time to listen to the other side of the story and consider what other scientists have found regarding global climate change, that perhaps it is a natural phenomenon and the Earth goes through natural cycles of temperature change.
Do your homework and stop listening to the loudest voices on the matter because they aren't right all of the time.

Answer 7

We can do nothing to stop, change, or "fix" nature. There are the dubious "feel good" things which make you feel good about doing SOMEthing, but the reality is, nothing is really accomplished, helped, slowed, or stopped. It just makes people THINK they are doing something.
Just like the "new ice age" squawked about in the '70s, "global warming" will go away by itself with no "help" from man. We didn't start it, we can't stop it.

Answer 8

'We' can start recycling, trading & reusing everything we can to keep factories from making more stuff that people really don't need. Turn your computer off at night, change your incadescent bulbs to cfl's, don't do any unneccessary driving, unplug all items that aren't currently being used...There are So many things that we can do to help the environment, therefore help prevent further global warming.

Answer 9

We can't stop it but we can try to slow it down. I mean it was humans who made this 'global warming' So we can stop using the stuff that cause global warming and it just might slow it down.

Answer 10

i'm fairly no longer hectic about international warming..If the international is going to go back to an end, it really is.. i'm no longer going to regulate my finished way of existence to positioned money into grasping politicians wallet..i have self assurance this is all a scare .To at last provide politicians most suitable ability. human beings elect to open there eyes ! :)