A team from MIT bubbles could be manufactured directly in outer space, forming an extensive deflective raft to reduce light from the sun. This would be geoeneringeering to fix climate change. The bubbles would be positioned at the Lagrangian Point between the Earth and the Sun.
At the labs at MIT, they have tested bubbles in outer space conditions that could be one of the most efficient thin-film structures for deflecting solar radiation.
This is building on the work of Roger Angel, who first proposed using thin reflective films in outer space, they produced an innovative solution that is easily deployable and fully reversible.
This Space-based solution would be safer. It would deflect 1.8% of incident solar radiation before it hits our planet. It would fully reverse today’s global warming.
The bubble array would be made of inflatable shields of thin silicon or another suitable material.
Nextbigfuture has looked at several space projects that have proposed large bubbles in space.
In 2007 Devon Crowe of PSI corporation created a study for NASA Advanced Innovative conceps for making large space structures from bubbles that are made rigid using metals or UV curing.
A single bubble can be 10 meters in earth gravity, 1000 kilometer in low earth orbit or 10000 kilometers in deep space. Foams made of many bubbles could be far larger in size.
Nextbigfuture Believes the Best Climate Change Solutions are Moving Farming into Greenhouses and Growing More Trees
The Climate problem we have is about 750 billion tons of excess CO2 in the atmosphere. We have 417 parts per million (ppm) of CO2 versus 285 ppm in 1850 before the industrial revolution. 135 times 5.5 billion tons is 742 billion tons. We are also adding about 40 billion tons of CO2 per year from human activity.
China is planning to have over 2 million hectares of greenhouse buildings by 2025 with mechanized-automation of farming. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued a guideline to promote the country’s facility-based agricultural planting, outlining goals for infrastructure upgrades and mechanization to boost output and farmers’ income. By 2025, China will maintain over 2 million hectares of facilities, including plastic greenhouses, and achieve above 50 percent mechanization for facility-based planting, a sector of the so-called controlled-environment agriculture (CEA), or protected agriculture.
The world already has about 500,000 hectares of climate-controlled greenhouses. China has 4 million hectares of crude plastic sheeting covering land in partially enclosed conditions. The plastic sheets lie over simple metal poles and crude framing.
The greenhouse tree solution can be combined with iron fertilization of the ocean. Putting a hundred tons of iron filings into the ocean will generate an algae bloom. The algae bloom can feed fish and then take a few to many million tons of CO2 to the bottom of the ocean.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.
