Six Degrees Could Change the World

OverviewOverviewVideoVideoPhotosPhotosInteractiveInteractiveSix Degrees: The BookSix Degrees: The BookStopping The Mercury's RiseStopping The Mercury's RiseSimulating Volcanic EruptionsSimulating Volcanic EruptionsLenses In SpaceLenses In SpaceReplanting ForestsReplanting ForestsSeeding The Oceans With IronSeeding The Oceans With IronTurning Pollution Into Baking SodaTurning Pollution Into Baking SodaCreating Artificial WeatherCreating Artificial WeatherDeserts And Islands Into MirrorsDeserts And Islands Into MirrorsSIX_HTML_solutions-2

Lenses in Space

University of Arizona astronomer Roger Angel has suggested using non-polluting, magnetically-powered vehicles — a concept that NASA is already exploring — to transport trillions of lenses made of silicon nitride film into space and deposit them near inner Lagrange point 1, an area where the combined effect of gravity of the Earth and the Sun would keep them in the same place relative to Earth’s rotation. The lenses would be about three feet across but incredibly thin, weighing about a gram. Rather than blocking sunlight, they would bend some of it slightly away from Earth, reducing the amount of energy transmitted by about 2 percent. Manufacturing the immense quantity of lenses and putting them into space — some 20 million launches would be required — make Angel’s idea a lengthy and pricey one, but he has estimated that the cost would average out to $100 billion annually over the lenses’ 50 year lifetime. The lenses would also be difficult to turn "off" if necessary, and could lead to uneven cooling effects.

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Six Degrees Could Change the World

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