Q. I am not in danger of flooding. Why should I care about sea level rise?
A. Refugees from flooding and other disasters will increase the loading on the
remaining resources of the Earth. Everyone will be affected to some extent.
Q. Is it safe to interfere with Nature?
A. Our activities already appear to be having an adverse effect. Sealevelcontrol.com
believes that some intervention should be considered, but it must be thoroughly
studied and carefully executed to avoid unfavorable consequences.
Q. Why don't we concentrate on reducing the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) to
solve the global warming and sea level rise problems?
A. CO2 has a long lifetime in the atmosphere. The modest emission reductions that
have been proposed in the Kyoto Protocols will result in very little, if any,
reduction in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. We presently appear to be taking
in more energy from the Sun than we get rid of by radiation to Space. This is
causing global warming, which will continue because we will not have made any
significant decrease in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.
Q. Why don't we make an all-out effort to reduce emissions enough to actually
decrease the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere?
A. Earth's infrared radiation spectrum, as observed from outer space, has a
deep broad dip centered at a wavelength of 15 micrometers. This is caused by
the IR absorption of CO2. When the spectrum is plotted as a function of
wavenumber (wavelengths per cm), the area under the curve represents the
total infrared radiation to space. It is about 237 W/m2 averaged over time
and Earth's surface. The area removed by the dip represents the greenhouse
effect of CO2. It is estimated that doubling the present concentration of CO2
will increase the area removed by the dip and thereby decrease the infrared
radiation to space by from 4 to 6 W/m2. This change is in the range 1.7% to
2.5% of the 237 W/m2 total radiation.
Many people believe that reducing CO2 emissions will immediately reduce CO2
concentration in the atmosphere. Because of the long residence time of CO2 in
the atmosphere, the reduction of CO2 concentration will be delayed. If
doubling the concentration causes such a small increase in the greenhouse
effect, it will take a large decrease in concentration to make a noticeable
reduction in greenhouse effect. Until this happens, the incoming short
wavelength solar radiation will exceed the outgoing long wavelength infrared
radiation to space. The excess power will be converted to heat, which will be
stored in the oceans, continuing the gradual rise in global temperature.
Severe reduction of CO2 emissions will be required to speed up the above
process, with most likely unacceptable disruption of our fossil-fuel-based
economy. We should do what is economically wise to reduce CO2 emissions, but
we should not panic and demonize CO2. This can lead to ill-advised actions,
such as potentially harmful sequestration schemes.
Q. Will reducing the flow volume of the Gulf Stream and other ocean currents that
transport heat to the Arctic region reduce global warming?
A. These measures are expected to lower the temperature of the Arctic region.
Increased snow and ice will increase the reflection of solar energy at high
latitudes, which will further lower the temperature at high latitudes. However,
less heat will be removed from the tropics, so we will need extensive climate
modeling to predict the overall effect on global warming. Generating electric power
from ocean currents will help to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
Q. What is the probability of enough countries and people agreeing to act on this
idea?
A. It has been said that "There is no stopping an idea whose time has come." This
may be true, but we have to supply the optimism, dedication, good judgment, and hard
work.
Q. Why don't you get all your information correct before putting it up on the Web?
A. We will never have all the answers. A project of this magnitude needs many people
and organizations working together - a challenge, indeed, considering our past and
present human behavior. We have to get started, and make corrections as we go. The
mentality that says "Get it right the first time." leads to unwillingness to look
for, recognize, admit, and correct errors. This is a prescription for failure.
Q. What if I don't agree with your ideas?
A. E-mail us at info@sealevelcontrol.com. Be specific with your comments,
criticisms, and questions. We will do our best to provide answers. If we need to
correct something on the website we will do so and will acknowledge that the
correction was the result of an inquiry.
Q. If this is a valid idea, why hasn't it been considered before?
A. Maybe it has. If so, we would like to hear about it. Generation of electric power
from the Gulf Stream's kinetic energy has been considered. It was not pursued
because there was no clear economic advantage compared to conventional generation.
In our case, electricity generation is a by product of a program to control sea
level. As long as it is reasonably economical, it need not be cheaper than
conventional generation.
Q. How will we finance this project?
A. We will have to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. If we can produce enough
preliminary studies to demonstrate that the idea may be valid and feasible, we
should be able to attract some research funding for more extensive and detailed
studies. We should be prepared to encounter increasing difficulty in funding the
project as we get further into it because of the enormity and global scope of the
project.
Q. What can an ordinary citizen do to help?
A. Try to understand the science and economics involved in the project so that we
can hold our leaders to high standards of judgment and integrity.
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