Saturday, February 16, 2008

Never mind the carbon credits, just build new glaciers

Robin Moroney at the WSJ's Informed Reader blog:

According to legends, villagers in the Hindu Kush and Karakoram mountain ranges that span the India-Pakistan border areas have been building artificial glaciers for centuries – even using one to stop the advance of Gengis Khan in the 13th century. The artificial versions are far smaller than regular glaciers, but can reach 800 feet in length. Usually, the glaciers are built in rocky areas 14,800 feet above sea level. Villagers pack ice and snow in the shadows of boulders. When winter arrives, snow bridges the areas between the ice and, over a few years, forms into a self-sustaining glacier.
This would make an excellent volunteer project for all the concerned warmingists with time on their hands, and would give them something to do besides lobbying for more restrictive laws and new taxes. The Glacier Construction Corps. Found in Jerry Pournelle's mail.

The Minnesotans for Global Warming could show them where to find raw materials.

Thanks for that to Morgan Freeberg of the House of Eratosthenes.

2 comments:

mkfreeberg said...

Thanks for the link.

I always get this funny feeling when I see my name spelled correctly in print. Usually it means I'm the employee of the month, or that I have to pay a bill.

Hector Owen said...

If there's a bill due, it's I who OU for the link to the song.

But I see I failed to think this one all the way through: How likely is it that the Glacier Construction Corps could be a volunteer project? Should it ever materialize, look for it to be funded out of taxes, along the lines of Peace Corps, Americorps, VISTA, and so on. A new tax on dry ice manufacturers might be a place to start, if rationality had anything to do with it. Speaking of which, why is dry ice even legal? That stuff is pure CO2!