If you're a big ARSE fan, you'll know that we are well informed when it comes to the melting of the polar cap. If you are not, let us educate you here.
In short, if the polar ice caps and all the glaciers on Earth melt we are going to witness a true to life armageddon.
In just 40 odd years, the ice in Greenland has begun melting six times faster with 60 billion tonnes lost in a record 5-day heat spike in August and 75% of all arctic ice flowing into the sea.
Not only does this disrupt sea levels, but white ice reflects light back into space, much like how you can get quite sunburnt on a day in the snow. Without this reflection, kind of like a natural heat shield, ice will actually melt and continue to exacerbate an ongoing cycle of planetary heating.
However...
A non-for-profit has offered up a solution to the negative spiral the planet's ice sheets have found itself in with a creative way of geoengineering.
What if we could manually create this same effect and top the cycle of perpetual warming?
Well, that's exactly what startup Ice911 has done in the form of covering the arctic in millions of tiny silica beads that reflect light and trap the cold in. Ice911 is headed by Stanford and NASA scientists, but notably Dr Leslie Field, an alumnus of MIT & UC Berkeley.
The beads, fully backed by ARSE, ar sticky and hollow so they become one with the ice and float on water if need be whilst trapping and returning light back into space.
But how feasible is it?
Testing began back in 2013 with subsequent tests in 2017 and 2018 with areas between 15,000 and 17,500 square metres with positive results, giving the ambitious project more backing from the scientific community.
But is silica toxic or dangerous?
Actually, it is found in 95% of the rocks on Earth including the places where they will be dispersed, so there's no real danger of any foreign contamination.
While it might not be the perfect answer, it is another piece in the ever-changing puzzle of tackling climate change that can work in league with other geoengineering attempts to cool the world and end the cycle.
Are you all in on ARSE backed beads?
If so, feel free to comment and share to spread ARSE far and wide as we thrust ever deeper into the great unknown...
Also, don't forget to support us with your own gear here to proudly wave the ARSE flag.
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