Earth Day Essay: Space program may allow climate repair/defense
- From: "Jim Oberg" <jameseoberg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 22 Apr 2005 14:14:07 GMT
On the occasion of 'Earth Day', this essay of a year ago suggests some
attention be paid to
the possibility of deliberate climate modification to counteract damaging
trends and hazards,
both of human origin and far-more-dangerous natural causes. This is a
controversial point of view --
Consider cosmic view of Earth Day
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2004-04-21-oberg_x.htm
USA Today, April 22, 2004
Alcestis "Cooky" Oberg and James Oberg
Earth Day will be celebrated today with traditional programs: habitat
restorations and cleanups in California, tree plantings and recycling
seminars in Ohio, a conservation festival in Philadelphia and concerts in
Florida.
In fact, in the 34 years since Earth Day was conceived, it has become
synonymous with entreaties to preserve and protect all life on Earth.
The original intent of Earth Day was for people to show how deeply
concerned they were about the deterioration of the Earth's environment and
natural resources, and their dedication to changing personal behavior and
national economic activities in order to reverse the trend.
Yet, even if arresting environmental harm through individual effort
alone were possible, it would be a mistake to focus merely on human-caused
problems. Better that we also focus on developing more sophisticated
technology, which will give scientists the ability through research and
exploration to learn more about the solar system and, in turn, how to
counteract the dangers to Earth, including natural threats.
That lesson has been vividly illustrated through recent discoveries in
outer space. New revelations - most recently on Mars and out beyond Pluto -
continue to enrich human understanding of the solar system and its erratic
history. And that includes the understanding of our home planet, Earth, and
its own past, present and - yes - future.
One example of the misplaced emphasis on solely the human role in
environmental problems is climate change. Many experts believe that if
humans control emissions from cars and factories, then Earth will naturally
be restored to some healthy, stable balance.
But discoveries in outer space show that this "balance" is never stable,
and it is not automatically healthy.
Other worlds show us the bigger, truer picture. We've seen the dusty,
frozen expanses of Mars, where life may have started in large oceans and
then fizzled. We've seen the baking hell-planet Venus, where oceans once
rolled, too, before rising temperatures boiled them off, likely choking any
life that may have formed.
The main lesson these new discoveries force us to face is that humans
are not made safe by changing a few emission laws or even in enacting the
Kyoto accords aimed at reducing greenhouse emissions on a global scale.
Climate change and occasional climate catastrophe are the norm, not the
exception, in the solar system.
That has been the pattern, not the aberration, on Earth as well and
involves little-understood processes that go far beyond human activity. The
geological archives of Earth are revealing that all life on this planet
endured frequent catastrophes and occasional near extinctions in our
4-billion-year history - long before the appearance of humans, with their
cars and factories.
So what does the planet do with this new insight? First must come
wisdom. The general assumption of Earth Day, that humans and their
technology are a threat to Earth's environment, is a much too narrow view.
It's not sufficient simply to "do no harm." Human technology must be used
and developed to gain a better understanding of how natural processes on
Earth work.
In fact, space science has shown that big natural occurrences really
determine the fates of planets. For example, the sun's heat varies and,
thereby, changes climate cycles. Earth's history shows that the planet is
under almost constant bombardment from objects falling from space - ranging
from dust particles to huge asteroids - which have profoundly tested its
resiliency. Earth's meandering motion through space changes the distribution
of solar heating, shifting ocean currents and inducing ice ages. Tidal
forces can trigger earthquakes and volcanoes, including the supervolcanoes
that scientists now know have devastated Earth's climate in the past.
The nation needs to sharpen its understanding of exactly how these
events affect planetary climate. This demands a broad and coordinated
program involving space and earth sciences in which all discoveries and
insights are gathered, freely shared and thoroughly analyzed. Second,
sophisticated computer models need to be developed that can weigh all of
these natural factors and their interactions - not just a few. That would
help us isolate the impact of specific factors from different causes. Only
then could scientists devise the best strategies to change human behavior
and also actively modulate the global effects on climate change and
stability.
At some point, decades from now, it may be possible to formulate methods
to moderate climate change. Scientists could manipulate Earth's heat balance
through space mirrors or sunshades. They could engineer Earth's atmosphere
through cloud-making or chemical tuning. They could divert harmful space
objects - such as planet-killing asteroids - threatening to hit Earth. The
first steps now have been taken during the space age to reach for planetary
wisdom and envision future interventions.
Future planetary exploration allows humans to see Earth as part of the
fabric of sibling worlds in the solar system, subject to the same forces
that shaped them. With this knowledge and the power that space technology
promises, earthlings may see a way to achieve genuine climate stability. So
while Earth Day activities aimed at local cleanups, tree plantings and
conservation lectures are useful in their limited way, the perspective of
the nation, indeed the world, needs to become truly planetary.
Alcestis "Cooky" Oberg is a freelance science and technology writer living
in Houston. She is also a member of USA TODAY's board of contributors. James
Oberg spent 22 years at NASA Mission Control in Houston.
.
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