Global cooling solutions

With Arctic ice shrinking to a record low, even opening up previously impassable shipping lanes in the ice-clogged North-West Passage, many people are considering drastic solutions to the most evident proof yet that planet Earth is heating up.

There are an array of proposed quick-fix solutions out there and they range from the feasible to the downright wacky. Some of these include:

• Sending thousands of computer-controlled satellites into orbit, each equipped with mirrors to deflect a fraction of the sunlight that would otherwise reach earth
• Fertilising the ocean with iron, creating algal blooms which could help absorb additional carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
• Pumping nutrient-rich deep water to the ocean surface via networks of millions of pumps to help absorb carbon through sequestration
• 'Green roofs' - covering urban rooftops with vegetation to help cool dwellings and offset the "urban heat island" effect
• Pumping sulphur particles into the atmosphere to mimic the cooling effect of a large volcanic eruption

These are just a few of the proposals being presented by both scientists and representatives from the coporate sector who stand to make big bucks if their solution is actioned. The environmental risks associated with many of these solutions are huge - ranging from worldwide droughts to actually worsening the global warming crisis by releasing more carbon into the atmosphere.

So while the experts debate the pros and cons of these solutions what should we do? Well, quick-fixes to serious problems generally do little more than mask the symptoms until the next crisis emerges. I believe that if each of us makes a determined effort now to reduce our resource consumption then, by developing these habits, we can start to drastically cut down the current impact we are making.

Combined with clean energy initiatives and accredited offsetting projects we can then begin to decide on which of the quick-fixes may actually be worthwhile.