Comments on: Bill Gates Funds Seawater Cloud Seeding, “the Most Benign Form of Geoengineering”

By: eTesters

eTesters — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 18:44:24 +0000

anchor the fleet off galveston tx and wait for a south wind. then seed clouds and put out fires. build permanent set up and green texas.

By: Dzianis

Dzianis — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:18:55 +0000

Such geoengineering projects have the questionable future, imho

By: JustMeDan

JustMeDan — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 05:37:16 +0000

Salt Water normally does not ever get into the atmosphere. Water vapor rises, but the salt is left behind in the ocean.

Forcing salt water into the atmosphere will blanket the entire earth in a layer of salt, killing plant life all over the globe.

Anyone that lives in colder climates where the put salt on the roadways can tell you what the effects salt has upon plants. And here they are wanting to spray salt over the entire earth.

And there is no reason to test this out, as it has been tested for numerous years, the results are the same. SALT KILLS PLANT LIFE

Where will we be after his “test” when all of the trees and food crops die? Sure, you can stop pumping salt into the atmosphere, but what will happen to all of the salt that has already been pumped up there and returned to earth in the rainfall?

Here is a link to the Government of Alberta where they are referring to the salt tolerance of plants.

http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex3303

By: Z-Man

Z-Man — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:18:34 +0000

Wow, That’s great. The majority of people will sit and do little to nothing. (Maybe just blog about it) But backing up your thoughts with money is always good place to start
I’d suggest testing this out just West of Morocco. First build computer models of course. It would appear to me with the prevailing trade winds, northern Africa would get more rain. Historically this has happened…… And then we can grow trees.

By: Henk

Henk — Sat, 15 May 2010 19:33:59 +0000

so if we assume that what goes up, must come down.. and if we position a number of these craft along the west coast of a desert area (like Western Sahara and West Australia) would it also produce more rain in those arid areas?

and would that also apply to the salt in the dispersed ocean water? or would a component of these contraptions take care of some sort of a desalination?

By: Bruno Domingues

Bruno Domingues — Thu, 13 May 2010 10:21:50 +0000

I think that if you are not sure, do not mess with it.

Lowering our albedo might seem a good idea now, but increased H2O in the atmosphere will also increase our greenhouse effect, since less IR radiation is escape to space, instead being radiated down.

With one of these effect will be dominant? Yep, we are not sure. Don’t come telling that this study or that says so, that’s bull and we all know it.

Does anyone still remember how late in the studies did the increased gases from permafrost losses got to be included in the sims? What are we forgetting this time?

Truth is we have been playing with fire for some time now, and its starting to burn…
… and trying to solve this the cheapest way is not going to work.

By: carddan

carddan — Wed, 12 May 2010 15:27:40 +0000

Cloud cover does reflect a portion of the sun’s rediation into space. Water vapor on the other hand, is a much more efficient greenhouse gas than CO2. Whether or not you believe in Anthropogenic Global Warming, it is a leap to think we understand the balance between these two simple processes. The arrogance and hubris of some men is incredible.

There are so many things wrong with this idea it is impressive.

By: Fear Fear

Fear Fear — Wed, 12 May 2010 14:47:04 +0000

can anyone say waterworld? lungs and gills for all!

By: good grief

good grief — Tue, 11 May 2010 20:53:36 +0000

This is a TERRIBLE IDEA.

The sun = life for all living organisms on earth. What gives this guy the right to do this? Answer, he has none.

Anybody who’s used his software knows he should NOT be allowed to geoengineer the earth.

By: amphiox

amphiox — Tue, 11 May 2010 19:57:12 +0000

Hmmm, real trees are pretty cheap.

Not really, if you consider the additional things you have to do to ensure an environment optimal for the successful growth of those trees, the number you need to plant and care for, and the length of time (decades) it takes for them to reach peak efficiency.

It is the acme of foolishness to think that for one we completely understand this complex system much less able to change it….

There comes a time, when faced with an imminent threat, when we have to accept the reality of incomplete information, commit to action, get on with it, and take our chances.

Have we reached that point yet? Probably not quite, but it’s getting close.

By: Junior

Junior — Tue, 11 May 2010 19:09:37 +0000

I can think of better ways to waste 5 million dollars.

By: Apo

Apo — Tue, 11 May 2010 17:04:06 +0000

The weather is such a complex and chaotic system that we can barely begin to predict the weather for next Tuesday – but we could somehow seed clouds on a mass scale and understand the potential outcomes?

By: John

John — Tue, 11 May 2010 16:14:07 +0000

It is the acme of foolishness to think that for one we completely understand this complex system much less able to change it….

By: GeneQueen

GeneQueen — Tue, 11 May 2010 15:10:28 +0000

This video on cloud seeding made me chuckle… I hope you do too http://www.scienceinseconds.com/video.php?vId=91&tId=

By: Salty Dog

Salty Dog — Tue, 11 May 2010 14:42:28 +0000

Don’t these jokers realize that if you spray salt water in the air it will precipitate on land and poison the soil? They need to spray fresh water if they want to participate in this con game.

By: JJ

JJ — Tue, 11 May 2010 11:21:42 +0000

I already get enough rain and snow in my neck of the woods. Plus, doesn’t water vapor and cloud cover only contribute to global warming…?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090723141812.htm

By: nick

nick — Tue, 11 May 2010 10:23:21 +0000

Dear Frank,

nebulous question. Could be anything from “rain” to “armageddon,” for an answer.

At least this is one geoengineering scheme that doesn’t rely on more pollution as the answer.

By: Frank

Frank — Tue, 11 May 2010 04:23:17 +0000

Just imagine the unintended consequences of this endeavor, if it really works.

Frank from AZ

By: LLORNKCOR

LLORNKCOR — Tue, 11 May 2010 04:11:22 +0000

It’s raining plankton, hallelujah, it’s raining plankton!

“… artificial trees to pull carbon dioxide out of the air—are extremely expensive and difficult.” Hmmm, real trees are pretty cheap.

By: Nenad

Nenad — Tue, 11 May 2010 01:07:15 +0000

How about planting more trees?!