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-1

Simulating Volcanic Eruptions

The 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines sent an estimated 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide high into the stratosphere. Winds proceeded to spread it all over the planet, forming a high-level haze that reflected back light from the sun and reduced global temperature by 0.5 degrees Celsius. Nobel prize-winning atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen has proposed simulating the Pinatubo effect by using artillery guns or balloons to inject sulfur into the atmosphere. (Rockets filled with sulfur could also do the trick). Crutzen calculates that the cooling effect would begin within six months and last for up to two years. Artificially duplicating Mount Pinatubo’s effects each year might cost $250 billion, though Crutzen says a relatively affordable $25-$50 billion worth would be enough to make a difference. A major downside is the possibility of creating acid rain or wreaking havoc with global weather patterns, as the eruption of the Indonesian volcanic island of Krakatoa did in the 1880s.

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Six Degrees Could Change the World

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Six Degrees Could Change the World

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