Sea level rise:a modest proposal

[nickbarnes]

Global sea-level is forecast to rise a metre or so over the next century. In the spirit of dumb-ass geo-engineering proposals to combat global warming, we should consider the most obvious geo-engineering approach to sea-level: pump sea-water into endorheic basins (that is, areas which don't drain into the global ocean), such as the basins of the

Comments

[yea_mon]

Just out of interest - was this blog post inspired in any fashion by the Levitt/Dubner mess-up that is the Climate Change chapter of 'Superfreakonomics'?

[nickbarnes]

Yes, although it's an idea I first had some years ago and filed under R for ridiculous. Most geo-engineering ideas are at least as bad. I was reminded of that by the Levitt/Dubner chapter, which screws the pooch in so many ways simultaneously. The geo-engineering nonsense is just the start. The way they have treated Caldeira is pretty shocking, and the splendid innumeracy of the solar panel albedo mention had me laughing out loud. Dumb-asses.

[yea_mon]

According to Deltoid they are still digging themselves a grave for Levitt's academic reputation...

Still the geoengineering stuff could make for a Bizarro Fermi Question style book where the idea is not to come up with a final rough number, but to see how few steps it takes to conclude that the idea is bast shit insane.

As an aside - it is amazing how the Freakonomics crew have gone from sceptical stars to dunces (IMHO) overnight. If I'd have been asked last month if I'd be getting their new book I'd have replied "Of course". Now my response would be "not in a million years". Twisting facts, figures, and people's words in search of an 'thought provoking piece' is the intellectual equivalent of an Oxymoron.

[gareth_rees]

This ought to provoke a re-evaluation of Freakonomics, which some people praised highly when it first came out, but which shares many of the flaws of the later book (contrarianism for the sake of it, data mining, uncritical acceptance of one interpretation of the facts, lack of curiosity about the sociological details of the phenomenon they are investigating) but not in such an obvious way.

[Critical reviews of the first Freakonomics: by Ariel Rubinstein, Daniel Davies (parts 1 2 3 4 5), John DiNardo.]

[fjmd1]

Another factor to consider is the increased surface area of ocean that you would be producing (though it depends on the depths you are going to pump the water too, particularly in the Tarim) leading to (i) a higher surface area for CO2 absorption (which can act as a potential sink for CO2) and (ii) an increased amount of evaporation

[kbj_haines]

It might also be possible to pump excess water into the underground cavities left after extraction of gas (and oil?). I wonder?

[leif42]

Would the available volume be significant?

Aral sea

[anonymous]

As I recall some significant improvements are being made in the Aral Sea, principally by effectively damming off the north end.