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February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Dec. 22, 2009/ 5 Teves 5770
Pollution a Solution?
By
Tom Purcell
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
If human activity got us into the mess, can human activity can get us out?
I refer to "SuperFreakonomics," a hugely entertaining book by University of Chicago
economist Steven Levitt and co-author Stephen Dubner.
Levitt and Dubner mine cold, hard economic and scientific data to arrive at some
offbeat conclusions.
The two tackled this bold question: What is the cheapest, fastest way to cool the
Earth?
The question assumes, of course, that human activity is a primary cause of long-term
warming; the Earth has warmed over the past 100 years, though it has cooled
recently.
The point: Supposing the Earth got so hot that the doomsday scenarios some are
selling were to come true, what could we do about it?
Levitt and Dubner's research led them to a group of inventors in Bellevue, Wash., at
a company called Intellectual Ventures (IV).
The IV guys are no kooks.
IV was founded in 2000 by Nathan Myhrvold, formerly chief technology officer of
Microsoft. The company has raised $5 billion to invent all kinds of cool solutions,
such as clean, cheap forms of energy.
The IV guys suspect human activity has contributed to warming we humans have been
burning lots of fossil fuels for a few hundred years now.
They also think that global-warming rhetoric in the media and political circles is
oversimplified and exaggerated.
They think the current generation of climate-prediction models is "enormously crude"
that there is an enormous amount of natural phenomena the models can't account
for, such as water vapor, the biggest greenhouse gas.
They think the conventional wisdom on how to resolve any potential problems is:
-
Too little: Conservation efforts, such as wind power, won't cut it.
-
Too late: Even if we stopped emitting carbon dioxide today, the carbon we've
already emitted will stay in the atmosphere for 100 years.
-
Too optimistic: It is way too hopeful to believe humans will seriously cut
carbon emissions, as our friends in China demonstrate on a daily basis.
So, supposing human activity were to lead to cataclysm, what could we do?
We could mimic the effects of a giant volcano!
When Mt. Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines in 1991, it pumped millions of tons of
sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere, the area seven miles above the Earth's
surface.
The sulfur dioxide absorbed water vapor and formed an aerosol cloud that rapidly
blanketed the globe. The hazy blanket partially reflected the sun, causing the Earth
to cool.
Thus, IV has proposed a contraption a giant garden hose, of sorts that could
be lifted high into the air with helium balloons. It could pump sulfur dioxide
directly into the stratosphere.
It sounds like something from the Willy Wonka chocolate factory, but it would likely
work.
And it would be cheap a total cost of $250 million. That's less than the U.S.
government spends every hour.
Levitt and Dubner have been assailed by some for oversimplifying a complex matter,
when all they were trying to do was answer a simple question:
What is the cheapest, fastest way to cool the Earth?
In any event, while some prophesy gloom and doom that the Earth will erupt into a
fiery ball unless we spend trillions to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions
I place my hope in human invention and ingenuity.
I'm betting someone will invent clean, cheap energy that will end our carbon worries
forever.
Hey, maybe the IV guys will invent an SUV that runs on kangaroo droppings.
Unlike cow droppings, say Levitt and Dubner, kangaroo doo is methane-free.
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ARCHIVES
© 2009, Tom Purcell
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