Xref: utzoo sci.bio:4538 sci.space:28072 Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!tdatirv!sarima From: sarima@tdatirv.UUCP (Stanley Friesen) Newsgroups: sci.bio,sci.space Subject: Re: Why bother? (was Re: Terraforming, sun shield) Message-ID: <159@tdatirv.UUCP> Date: 4 Mar 91 17:41:10 GMT References: <6956@harrier.ukc.ac.uk> Reply-To: sarima@tdatirv.UUCP (Stanley Friesen) Followup-To: sci.bio Organization: Teradata Corp., Irvine Lines: 23 In article bmb@bluemoon.uucp (Bryan Bankhead) writes: >Terraforming is my least favorite option for creating living space for >humanity.. The energy cost estimated for the terraforming of mars, the >most earthlike planet in the solar system is in the area of 10^23 watts, >or about 100 million times as much as the entire energy consumption fo >humanity for all purposes. ... Ah, but the *easy* planet to terraform is *Venus*. It's atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide, which makes it both very hot, and very dense. Now, plants convert carbon dioxide, water, and sunlight into complex hydrocarbons and oxygen. The hydrocarbons, being solid, are removed from the atmosphere. This results in a cooler, less dense atmosphere. Also, the hydrocarbons could act as a humic base for real soil!. Thus to terraform Venus just add a few tons of aerosol phytoplankton and wait a good while. It will become inhabitable with no furhter help. [Note the phytoplankton must be cabable of living floating in air, and with little wate, but that is easily accomplished] -- --------------- uunet!tdatirv!sarima (Stanley Friesen)