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Ed T wrote:
> "Mike" <mike@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> > But anyway, there is a ring of truth to what you say...NOTHING we do now
> > can possibly reverse the engine of nature on earth that humanity has
> > unwittingly thrown a mystical wrench into.
>
> Carl showed the way (that WAS a cleric's collar, not a turtle neck). The
> question now is how many megatons to raise the dust needed to cool the
> earth?
A back of the envelope calculation suggests something like 200-500MT
every few years based on the explosive yield of Krakatoa in 1883 and
Tambora in 1815 (estimated to be in that range). Encouraging managed
vulcanism might help control the amount of radioactive fallout produced
- to maximise dust and smoke in the atmosphere airbursts won't cut it..
It roughly fits with Carl Sagans estimates for a possible nuclear
winter scenario in the smoke from firestorms following a large scale
nuclear exchange - online at:
http://www.mindfully.org/Nucs/Sagan-Nuclear-Consequences31oct83.htm
If all else fails and it is a final choice of saving a part of the
planet for human habitation we can as the ultimate last ditch safety
valve deliberately trigger eruption of the Yellowstone caldera super
volcano to get a >> 1GT yield explosion and associated cooling effects.
It would render most of continental North America totally uninhabitable
in the process, but hey that is the price you may ultimately have to
pay for ignoring the science now.
Regards,
Martin Brown
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