There’s a great article in a recent issue of Rolling Stone: it features legendary Star Warrior, Lowell Wood. The article has the priceless title, “Can Dr. Evil Save the World,” and details plans by Wood to solve the global warming problem using geo-engineering.You can read an excerpt here, but unfortunately, the full article is only available in hard copy. For fans (like myself) of Bill Broad’s classic book, Star Warriors, this article provides a fascinating insight into how Wood’s interests have progressed since the 1980s, when he was a key figure in the Strategic Defense Initiative and space-based missile defense.
Wood’s solution to global warming goes something like this:
Wood’s proposal was not technologically complex. It’s based on the idea, well-proven by atmospheric scientists, that volcano eruptions alter the climate for months by loading the skies with tiny particles that act as mini-reflectors, shading out sunlight and cooling the Earth. Why not apply the same principles to saving the Arctic? Getting the particles into the stratosphere wouldn’t be a problem — you could generate them easily enough by burning sulfur, then dumping the particles out of high-flying 747s, spraying them into the sky with long hoses or even shooting them up there with naval artillery. They’d be invisible to the naked eye, Wood argued, and harmless to the environment. Depending on the number of particles you injected, you could not only stabilize Greenland’s polar ice — you could actually grow it. Results would be quick: If you started spraying particles into the stratosphere tomorrow, you’d see changes in the ice within a few months. And if it worked over the Arctic, it would be simple enough to expand the program to encompass the rest of the planet. In effect, you could create a global thermostat, one that people could dial up or down to suit their needs (or the needs of polar bears).
Like most of the issues Wood takes on (i.e. space-based missile defense, electromagnetic pulse, cold fusion etc.), the idea is fascinating, if a bit daunting. In either case, the article is a good read.