Global Warming: Tipping Points and Radical Solutions

Tipping Points

The atmosphere near the surface of the Earth has warmed about 1 degree in the 20^th century. This doesn’t seem like much, after all walking from a shady spot to a sun drenched spot can reflect a change of several degrees. So what’s the big deal? How can one degree make such a difference?

The reason is that there a vast areas in the polar and mountain regions in which the ice is just barely above the freezing point.. Permafrost is found on both land and continental shelves in the Arctic, and it comprises almost 24% of the Northern Hemisphere’s land, covering approximately 22.8 million square kilometers. Source

So it stands to reason that at the southern extremes of Siberia and Alaska that are warming the fastest are right at the tipping point. A small amount of warming melts the ice. The soil beneath the surface has been mostly frozen for about 10,000 years and over this period it has been accumulating partially decomposed plant and animal matter from the surface. As the permafrost melts the organic material is broken down by microorganisms which release more CO2 which causes more warming.

Radical Solutions

It is my belief that even if we stop every instance of fossil fuel combustion, cars, planes, power plants, the whole enchilada, that we have already reached the tipping point. Cutting back on fossil fuel use may slightly slow or diminish the impact. But how likely is that?

“Professor Paul Crutzen, who won a Nobel Prize in 1995 for his work on the hole in the ozone layer, believes that political attempts to limit man-made greenhouse gases are so pitiful that a radical contingency plan is needed.” [Steve Conner of the UK Guardian, July 31, 2006]

Crutzen has suggested increasing the albedo of the planet by seeding the atmosphere with sulfate particles. Other ideas like installing reflective films and increasing phytoplankton populations (that consume CO2) have also been proposed.

Here I propose other solutions that may be more controversial but which I believe should be given serious consideration nevertheless.

1. Ameliorate the impact of global warming by covering all parking structures, highways, office buildings, homes and condos with solar panels.

2. Pass legislation that all vehicles must be powered by electricity generated by solar power..

3. Immediately begin the planning and construction of levees around critical coastal cities, L.A., San Francisco, San Diego, New York, etc. I would also include selected critical habitats to serve as refugia for wildlife.

4. Fund research into the technology needed to seal off the lower stories of important buildings so that the upper stories can be occupied. Think of L.A. as the new Venice complete with floating docks, water shuttles and water limos.

5. Develop food crops adapted to the newly opened habitat in the poles and start cultivation as the polar regions warm sufficiently for farming.

6. Begin a mandatory relocation of coastal residents to newly constructed inland villages and cities.

7. Assist keystone species by transplanting them to newly opened habitats.

8. Develop floating desalination plants and pipelines to carry freshwater to the new developments in the new deserts forming in the interior.

9. Adopt strict population control methods.

10. Stop having senseless wars and start cooperating with other nations because the survival of the human race is at the tipping point.

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