The 1992 plan to fight climate change with firepower
- 6 years ago
WASHINGTON — U.S. researchers once devised a plan to cool the planet by firing artillery shells laced with alumina into the stratosphere.
In 1992, researchers for the National Academy of Science published geoengineering options that included artillery shells containing UV-reflective alumina and 16-inch naval rifles.
The plan would've seen these massive 1-ton shells half filled with alumina and half-filled with dispersal mechanisms and other materials. The scenario would see 40 10-barrel stations located on empty land areas or at sea due to noise, firing 5 shots per hour, for 24 hours a day for 250 days of the year.
The scenario also envisaged the naval rifle firing a projectile containing alumina into the stratosphere. Once there it there it would disperse the substance. Alumina, like sulfur dioxide, can also reflect ultraviolet light.
The academy's Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy drafted the plan in a 1992 publication titled 'Policy Implications of Greenhouse Warming: Mitigation, Adaptation, and the Science Base'.
In 1992, researchers for the National Academy of Science published geoengineering options that included artillery shells containing UV-reflective alumina and 16-inch naval rifles.
The plan would've seen these massive 1-ton shells half filled with alumina and half-filled with dispersal mechanisms and other materials. The scenario would see 40 10-barrel stations located on empty land areas or at sea due to noise, firing 5 shots per hour, for 24 hours a day for 250 days of the year.
The scenario also envisaged the naval rifle firing a projectile containing alumina into the stratosphere. Once there it there it would disperse the substance. Alumina, like sulfur dioxide, can also reflect ultraviolet light.
The academy's Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy drafted the plan in a 1992 publication titled 'Policy Implications of Greenhouse Warming: Mitigation, Adaptation, and the Science Base'.