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Ice is water, water is life.


Description

Summary

Dear Friends ,

I would like to introduce you one vision about how to tackle this Economic/Environmental knot of problems.

Basics:
1. We're just emerging from very heavy economic crisis that affected many types of business and millions of people.
2. Many scientists conclude that the economic consequences from the worsening environmental situation resulting from climate change will be even heavier. For instance: the financial loses from just one hurricane are measured in not millions but billions of dollars. (latest examples - Typhoon Haiyan, Vanuatu, record low temperatures in US last winter, unprecedented drought in State of California)
3. Energy issue and its multiple aspects "weigh" more and more: growing needs, prices, degree of pollution, political (in)dependence (latest example - Ukraine), etc.

We are near 7.3 billion, and except the 2 billion people that struggle every day for basics like water and food, the most of the rest try to live the movie version of the American way of life, for which we need 2 more planets like Earth to feed our irrational consumer needs.
The challenges (to manage and to provide job and food security for so many people, and to handle with the consequences of their consumption) are enormous.

Unprecedented situation requires unprecedented steps. In this relation, I would like to ask you kindly to consider the possibilities described in Desert Ice Project - http://www.deserticeproject.com

There you will find a description of the project aimed to fight global warming (and related desertification / drought, food and water shortage, poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, illegal immigration, terror, violence and conflicts, etc.) by global, complex measures - global initiative / network of local focused solutions to specific regions.
If the situation is so bad and even going worse, we must not exclude any alternative.
 


Category of the action

Geoengineering


What actions do you propose?

The emphasis is on the belief that basically we can react to this knot of problems in two key ways:
1. By intensive greening (more trees and leafs - more absorbed CO2, preserved moisture/WATER, more stable soil, more jobs, more own produced FOOD by the locals, more income and profits, more stable economies and improved living conditions for more people, reduced migration, improved security, etc.). This step alone won't help, because industrial pollution will go on.
2. By sophisticated filtering and energy efficient systems radically reducing heat-trapping gases that flow in the atmosphere – all shaped in one international system of standards, which does not allow one to take unfair advantage compared to the others. Only limiting our greenhouse emissions (CCS techniques alone) won't help, because desertification, drought, water/food shortage and following social problems will continue. So, there must be applied both methods.

This is a large economic initiative that will mobilize many sectors of business - engineering, construction, banking, security, education, agriculture, science, etc.

Unlike the geo-engineering projects this operation is the most natural one. It only reverses the "negative geo-engineering" that we already did to some places in our planet - deforestation, pollution, too much land used for grazing, etc. Many of its stages are applied already in different parts of the world. They just need to be connected in one system.

Many requirements set by environmentalists seem to be too expensive from the economists' point of view. And the opposite - what industry and business want is often unacceptable by the green. This project tries to find the crossing point between, and it should be assessed by both sides.

Every problem is an opportunity in disguise. This is a chance for us, not just for solving the current E3 (Environment-Energy-Economy) crisis, but to put international relations / co-operation into a new level.

P.S. Latest (seemingly unrelated) news about the icebergs breaking off from Greenland, giant icebergs drifting nearby Australia, record temperature extremes, the concentration of economic interests (military presence) around both polar areas, the insecurity of Food/Energy/other resources' prices, and growing unemployment and social unrest (people don't see Liberté Égalité Fraternité in reality) reminds us that we are running out of time.


Who will take these actions?

UN and most interested country members - those in need for water.

Rich countries - because of the expected reduction of illegal immigrants.

Pour countries  - because of the expected agricultural/economic growth.

The world as whole - because of the new cause to pursue.


Where will these actions be taken?

For pilot project - Australia, or Mali, Morocco, Chile, etc. Basically  - those who suffer most from the water shortages, and in the same time are relatively close to water routes where icebergs could be towed and extracted.


What are other key benefits?

Economic growth, cooling down society's political and social unrest. Reduced poverty. Reduced number of illiterate people. Reduced number of people manipulated by religious dogmas. Reduced number of conflicts, wars, and terror attacks. Reduced risk of illegal immigration - people wouldn't risk their lives crossing seas, deserts, and walls to seek a better life abroad, if they have it in their homeland. Better environment. Improved knowledge for terra forming and future colonization of Mars or other planets.


What are the proposal’s costs?

This should be estimated by a designated board of scientists and economists. Anyway we're talking about billions of dollars - 5-10 may be.


Time line

Step 1 - Scientific research - 2-3 years.

Step 2 - Proposal for action - 5 years.

3 - Political consensus at highest level  - UN - 5-6 years.

4. Pilot project - 6 years.

5. If efficiency and feasibility are proved - massive implementation - 10-15 years.


Related proposals

 

 


References

Open any given newspaper or news channel and see the main news that draws the picture of the world today. DIP suggests what we should do in order to turn the negative trends in one combined, interdisciplinary approach.