A geoengineering paper published today in Environmental Research Letters proposes spending $8 billion per year to pump 5 million tons of sulfuric acid [H2SO4] into the high atmosphere to reflect sunlight, to allegedly save the planet from the non-existent problem of anthropogenic global warming.
The authors propose a 20 kilometer pipe connected to a “new aircraft design,” but note their scheme has a “large uncertainty” that either the pipe or aircraft could fail, thereby spewing tons of sulfuric acid directly onto Gaia.
I can see Chicken Little running in circles, pointing at the sky screaming “UNPRECEDENTED!, UNPRECEDENTED! “.
You reckon EPA would give ‘em a permit for that?
Probably not. There are some sane people at the agencies that would stop this.
However, there are just as many others who are equally insane. (This catalytic oxidizer will reduce VOCs by 10 tons per year, great. No NOx emissions to speak of, excellent. Doesn’t have a temperature increase across the catalyst bed. HERESY!) <- Not making that up. They'd probably nix it for obstructing migration patterns or something stupid like that.
I see Lisa Jackson shooting and eating Chicken Little.
Gee, all it takes is aircraft we don’t have and piping systems we don’t have. I guess a break in the pipe results in a real acid rain scenario. All when we are doing all we can to reduce the sulfur content of fuels. Wouldn’t it be simpler to increase the sulfur content in fuel and hope for some upward diffusion? Hmmm, does our current “global warming” correlate to the acid rain reduction directives?
Brilliant! What a great idea! We force emitters to spend $100Bs to add equipment to reduce SO2 emissions in order to reduce acid rain, then turn around and spend $Bs more to deliberately pump sulfuric acid into the atmosphere. And who’s pays for the damages and costs when all that lovely sulfuric acid precipitates and eats through the paint of 100Ms of vehicles, kills 10Ms of trees, eats up roadways and bridges, etc.
Then, there’s the matter of the “new aircraft design.”
Only government could come up with (sponsor, fund, implement) such a plan, since only government has no accountability for spending other people’s money.
Gamecock; Of course!