According to Scientists, the buildup of carbon dioxide from human activities in our atmosphere is responsible for slowly warming our planet and has dire consequences for our future.
Scary long term effects of global warming include; rising Sea levels and extreme weather, including increased strength and occurrence of both Hurricanes and Tornadoes. One of the more Apocalyptic predictions, according to Wikipedia, is a response from the Earth’s crust, due to ice melting and deglaciation, in a process called post-glacial rebound, when land masses are no longer depressed by the weight of ice. This could lead to landslides and increased seismic and volcanic activities. Tsunamis could be generated by submarine landslides caused by warmer ocean water thawing ocean-floor permafrost or releasing gas hydrates.
Image – By NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies – http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs/, Public Domain, Link
Experts have been warning for years, we are quickly approaching the point of no return and unless we drastically reduce carbon emissions, the effects will be unstoppable.
While there has been some progress in reducing carbon emissions through government policies, international treaties and renewable energy expansion in the energy market, the glaring elephant in the room begs the question; what if we cannot reduce carbon emissions quickly enough? Unfortunately, there have been very few, if any viable ideas about remediating the carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere, until now.
According to an article in Motherboard.. back in 2014, scientists actually converted carbon dioxide into oxygen using a high energy vacuum ultraviolet laser. In a bit of irony, the authors of the Motherboard article, speculated about using the technology to create a breathing apparatus for astronauts. While that idea is exciting, Earthensource likes to take the macro view and dream bigger.
How This Can Work to Clean Up the Atmosphere
All the nations who signed the Paris Climate Accord, would need to get together and create an international fund to ; design, test and deploy, either a ground based or satellite based network of lasers, to safely convert the carbon dioxide in our atmosphere into oxygen. The trick would be to convert just the right amount of oxygen, no sense in turning our atmosphere into a fire hazard.
While a laser in space, pointed at the Earth may not seem like a safe idea, the laser would not be focused on the ground. Instead, it would spread its energy out using multiple beams to effect the atmosphere at just the right distance and strength to optimally convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. Once the beam hits the carbon dioxide and transforms it into oxygen, it would dissipate safely in the atmosphere without effecting anything on the ground.
A space based system would have the advantage of moving around the earth thus reducing the number of satellites needed while orbiting close enough to the atmosphere for maximum effectiveness. Each satellite would be solar powered and have built in atmospheric measuring and monitoring to insure each laser is properly focused, aimed and using the correct amount of energy for optimal conversion and safety.
A land based laser would need to be spread out across multiple units in various places and could work in tandem with satellite atmospheric measuring and monitoring to insure maximum effectiveness and safety.
Both space and land based systems would need to be approved by all industrialized nations so that all are assured the system is not in violation of any missile defense treaties and is NOT in any way weaponized.
Now some may raise their nose at such an idea and say, “Oh that couldn’t possibly be done”. Oh yeah? Just a few years ago they said an electric car couldn’t possibly be made for less than $40,000, yet here we are with the $35,000 Tesla model 3. Many years ago they said there was no way a heavier than air machine could ever fly, no one could ever set foot on the moon or a computer would ever be smaller than a truck. Yet here we are, people fly all over the world, while typing on their laptops or watching a video of Neil Armstrong taking that giant leap for mankind.