Global Warming and Ice Ages: I. Prospects for Physics-Based Modulation of Global Change
15 August 1997 | Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Edward Teller is considered to be the father of the hydrogen bomb
”Perhaps one of the surprises of this analysis is the relatively low costs at which some of the geoengineering options [aimed at offsetting global warming] might be implemented.” p2
We note that efforts directed to cost minimization of mitigation technologies is specifically supportive of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, whose Article 3 states that ”policies and measures to deal with climate change should be cost-effective so as to ensure global benefits at the lowest possible cost.” p3
We estimate a total cost of lifting mass into the stratosphere on wide-body commercial aircraft to be ~$0.3/pound, p5
It may well be feasible to transport and disperse enough SO2 (or SO3 or H2SO4) into the stratosphere to produce the desired insolation modulation effect 28,29 p9
It has also been suggested that alumina injected into the stratosphere by the exhaust of solid-rocket motors might scatter non-negligible amounts of sunlight.30 We expect that introduction of scattering-optimized alumina particles into the stratosphere may well be overall competitive with use of sulfur oxides;31 alumina particles offer a distinctly different environmental impact profile. p10