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Removing material from the atmosphere is a constant process that requires vast amounts of energy. Would there be any benefit from altering the albedo of the lan

by ohiovr 7y ago

Removing material from the atmosphere is a constant process that requires vast amounts of energy. Would there be any benefit from altering the albedo of the land instead of the upper atmosphere? By laying down white reflective material solar radiation can reflected away but this constant reflection of sunlight requires no energy besides making sure the surfaces stay clear of dirt or debris deposited by the wind. Wouldn't this be an ideal solution in places like Australia that have vast deserts and suffer from extremely high temperatures?

ourmandave 7y ago
...besides making sure the surfaces stay clear of dirt or debris deposited by the wind. Here's a 60 sec video of how they clean off the large panels at a vast solar plant. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ErcsBEomnI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ErcsBEomnI
- heywire 7y ago
  That's a neat video, but wow those transition effects make me nauseous.
- oAlbe 7y ago
  Do they need to operate the cleaners manually? It seems like with just a couple of adjustments those cleaners could be automated and not requite a two people operating them. They could be scheduled to run once a day, every day, half an hour before the sun comes up. One sweep back and forth and the job is done. You just need to build a few more, give them a timer and two motors, and maybe make those solar panels rows longer so you need less cleaning robots. And that's it. They could even be themselves solar powered, charging during the day when they are not working. And those people who operate them could instead go around after the "robots shift" to check for problems and fix them. Am I vastly underestimating something here?