Climate Tools Seek to Bend Nature’s Path

A playground in Arnhem, the Netherlands, with a surface of olivine, a green-tinted mineral that takes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

One solution to global warming lies right beneath our feet.? Olivine, a green-tinted mineral found in abundance around the world, when exposed to the elements gradually absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.? Dr. Olaf Schuiling, a retired geochemist in the Netherlands, explains that olivine has done this naturally for billions of years; he proposes to increase the process by spreading olivine on fields, beaches, pathways, to construct dikes, even to use in sandboxes.

Another solution seeks to imitate volcanic action in order to create a sulfur dioxide cloud.? The gas would then turn into droplets of sulfuric acid which act as miniscule mirrors to reflect some of the sun’s rays away from earth and back into space.

These and other ideas in the field of geoengineering are controversial.? Doubt arises concerning the speed at which change would occur or even the practicality of implementing some of the plans.? Fear develops in regard to how little we really know about manipulating temperatures and the resulting consequences.? More research needs to be done, out in the field.? The prospects of government support, however, for any kind of geoengineering test seem slim right now in the United States, where many politicians deny that climate change is even occurring.

Read more about problems and solutions, balancing between decreasing emissions and creating ways to deflect the sun, and the potential of the earth’s capabilities for survival.

Republicans Vow to Fight E.P.A. and Approve Keystone Pipeline, While Other Countries Work Towards 50% Renewable Energy . . . What’s Wrong with the USA?

After last week’s election, Republicans have gained majority in Congress.? Their plan regarding environmental issues, and climate change in particular, is to continue denying it’s even an issue and do their best to stymie any laws that would help reduce carbon emissions and protect the environment.? Senator Jim Inhofe, of Oklahoma, the presumed new chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, expects to open investigations into the E.P.A. and call for cuts in its funding as well as delay the regulations for as long as possible.? Republicans also plan to use their majority to enact legislation requiring the president to approve the Keystone Pipeline.? Continue reading of their gathering momentum.? Meanwhile, Denmark continues to work towards their goal of becoming 50% renewable energy by 2020 (they’re already at 40%), and Germany is looking to do the same.? As Americans, we need to speak up to our politicians and let them know that we want the U.S.A to move in that same direction and become leaders in the renewable energy movement.? Continue reading about their efforts.