From: john.thingstad@chello.no   
      
   On Mon, 03 Jul 2006 06:53:22 +0200, Andrew Nowicki    
   wrote:   
      
   >   
   > Could we use the moon or its part as the earth cooling   
   > contraption? Suppose that we drill a hole in the moon,   
   > place a big hydrogen nuclear bomb at its bottom and detonate   
   > the bomb. If we aim the detonation towards the earth,   
   > the regolith, much of it fine dust, will either orbit   
   > the earth or it will plunge into the earth's atmosphere.   
      
   To what avail. That would be dangerous and foolish.   
   I suggest you study some meteorology.   
   Just how much did you expect the earth to cool and   
   where? Do you think this dust distributes evenly?   
   Now imagine such a plume coming to wards the earth. It released by   
   detonating a bomb   
   so it all comes in one pulse. Thus it hits only one side of the earth.   
   This would indeed be cooled. In a small area to perhaps   
   -20 centigrade. Over the Brazilian rainforest's perhaps?   
   Then it spreads and causes chaos in the weather all over the world.   
   Is this supposed to counteract greenhouse warming?   
   Forget it! The dust settles after a couple of years   
   but the CO2 is still there. So all you get is a couple   
   of years of chaotic weather.   
      
   >   
   > I guess that the whole project would not cost more   
   > than $1 billion. Can you imagine a cheaper method?   
      
   Are you joking! A shuttle launch alone costs 500 million.   
   And you need 100 tonnes into orbit in order to get the bomb etc to the   
   moon. But then you also need to develop and distribute these   
   Whipple shields. There are hundreds of these. And the technology to   
   place them there doesn't exist. So several more 100 tonnes.   
      
   Of course the 50 billion or so this would cost is insignificant   
   compared to the cost of collateral damages on earth.   
      
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