Scientists suggest a stop-gap solution for 'refreezing' melting ice; will cost whopping $11 billion yearly

At this point, everyone (except a few naysayers) acknowledgethat climate change is a reality and we are all facing a very real danger. The Earth is warming up, the ice caps are melting, and despite the fact that organisations and national governments around the world have set lofty goals, we are mostly at a loss for what can be done to speedily reverse the situation.

Now, scientists have proposed an ambitious and some might say downright "bizarre" plan to reverse the ice loss: they want to refreeze the north and south poles.

A recent study carried out by Wake Smith of Yale University andpublished in Environmental Research Communications proposes that a high-flying aircraft will spray small aerosol particles into the atmosphere at latitudes of 60 degrees north and south.

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These aerosols would gradually float poleward if dispersed at a height of 43,000 feetsignificantly shading the ground below, claims the study.They say that the additional shade would allow the melting poles to refreeze, reducing the problems of melting glacier ice and rising sea levels.

According to the scientists, the method would "abate climate change by deflecting back into space a small fraction of the incoming solar radiation."

However, it does come at a hefty cost. The method is called stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) and as per the Daily Mail report would cost a whopping $11 billion yearly.

Although they admitted that the idea is controversial, the researchers asserted that the idea is "feasible" and that $11 billion a year is "extraordinarily cheap" in comparison to other climate solutions like carbon capture.

The proposal does have some drawbacks: The planes would emit their own emissions that would contribute to global warming.Additionally, the aerosol would contain sulphur dioxide, which in large doses can harm the lungs and airways by corroding them and causing nausea, vomiting, and stomach pain.

But the researchers contend that less than one per cent of the global population lives in the target areas.

However, Smith also admitted that the plan would only serve as a sort of Earth-salvaging bandage rather than addressing the fundamental causes of climate change.

"It's aspirin, not penicillin. It's not a substitute for decarbonisation," he said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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