Bill Gates vs. the Weather: Your Thoughts

[romano2717]

---

Do we want to tamper with these forces of nature?

Thunderstorms are nature's heat pumps. They take heat close to the surface and pump them into the upper atmosphere where it is ultimately radiated off into space.

On a larger scale, Tropical Cyclones (which begin life as a series or cluster of thunderstorms) are nature's way of redistributing heat and moisture over a large area, often covering hundreds of thousands of square kilometers. A typhoon, for instance, starts forming somewhere near the Micronesian islands about 5 degrees above the equator, and end up in Japan over a week later. That's a wide swath of ocean. Will Bill Gates be building enough tugs and barges to cover such a large area?

Cyclones then are not all about destruction and mayhem. They play a vital role in regulating global temperatures. Scientist estimate that without thunderstorms or hurricanes, global temperatures would actually rise several degrees. Bill Gates in effect wants to tamper with nature's thermostat.

And we haven't even begun to consider what effects pumping cold ocean water from the deep to the surface may have on oceanic currents.

Im sorry but we have been tampering / destroying / disturbing nature lately, cant you feel the effects already?
I think it is time to somehow do something to stop all these deaths rather than do nothing at all.
This world has become a dangerous place because we are doing nothing about it.

[ethzneuron]

OT: pwedi man kaha ma-UNDO ni dodong bill kung magkina-unsa.

mas nindot kung naa na silay results sa ila beta testing..

[dmelsie]

i can only think of red alert lightning storm super weapon ani


"warning: weather control device detected"

nice idea mana maka benefit man hinoon but if worse kaayo ang after effect ayaw na lang

[the_Lost_Remnant]

In this case its Bill Gates' money so he can do whatever with it.
We don't know how it will affect marine life by tampering with water temperature it would adversely affect them.
SO this still has many considerations. I think Global warming is the root cause of these hurricanes so I think there is a lot of things we can do ourselves to prevent these.
Like reduce CFC aircons and refs, reduce polution, reduce electric consumption, power saving components, Green Cars, policies that promote emission reductions. We ourselves can do something on saving nature like reducing our unnecessary electric consumption(save the earth and save money as well), use paper bags rather than plastic bags, recycle, and use biodegradable materials, don't waste fresh water so on and so forth.

Its better to treat problems at its root cause but not its immediate symptom.
Its just that we haven't done enough to cure it yet. Bill Gates ideas may sound very politically correct and Noble but its unscientific and the implications of marine life could be disastrous.

Well media would do anything to get a story no matter how stupid it is.

[emailroy2002]

why don't he build strong houses and bridges which is hurricane proof.
or hurricane shelter that accomodate the majority of the population in the US.
weather is unpredictable no one can stop the forces of nature even the wealthiest man on earth...


they say don't play with fire - it will burn you
don't play with water - it will drown you.

[rodsky]

they say don't play with fire - it will burn you
don't play with water - it will drown you.

If this were true, we'd still be living in caves.

-RODION

[jamesmusslewhite]

It could do some good, but it could cause harm. If you uncork a bottle of champagne, you can not re-cork the bottle till the pressure is relieved. You may get the cork back on but it will never again be as it once was, because it will forever be changed by the event.
If you disrupt the world's weather patterns you could permanently disrupt the worlds food supplies. Just one example: what if the Philippines suffered from a perminant 60% annual rainfall reduction, due to a new shift in the weather patterns? What if the opposite happens and there is a 60% increase? Either way the food supply would be greatly effected, and the culture changed. How would your life change if rice went to 500-2000 pesos a kilo due to shortages and whole populations would have to relocate due to floods or droughts. How would your life change if you had to arm yourself just so you neighbors would not rob you because they think you have food. What if the Philippines becomes desert land and never will be green again. You do not play with mother nature.

I love the man is destroying the earth argument, expecially here in the philippines were everything is dumped in the lakes, rivers, and oceans. Garbage and trash fills everywhere. Dynamite and Cyanide fishing goes unchecked as this country's ocean coral beds are deing. The hardwood forest are being chopped down without replanting, and the natural resources are being stripped off, mined, and sold cheaply for other countries to exploit.

Yes let Bill Gates play God with the world, he has money and can not make a mistake. Yes if he fixes it then we do not have to do the responsible things necessary to fix the problems. Mankind can still act like the irresponsible ignorant pigs that we are. Fix the world? how when we trash the globe and dump our stink onto someone else? When was the last time you picked up a sack of litter, properly recycled trash, planted a tree, protested illegal acts, or actually did something to help this planet, besides just complain as you throw trash on the ground so it can choke rivers, lakes, and the ocean. We are all ignorant, lazy, wasteful, and foolish; and we are all guilty of crimes against Mother Nature.

Yes let Bill Gates give it a try, because we sure are not going to do anything. We will just act clever, and pretend we are smart, because we are not going to do anything but find a place to throw the next wrapper onto the ground.

I am sure many will claim how they are so different, and they are innocent, that they are such good stuerts of the land and waters. That is fine lie to us if you want. But you are still a lier. We are all guilty.

[diehard96]

perhaps a middle path would be to simulate the process in a controlled environment first.

[Tarmac]

Im sorry but we have been tampering / destroying / disturbing nature lately, cant you feel the effects already?
I think it is time to somehow do something to stop all these deaths rather than do nothing at all.
This world has become a dangerous place because we are doing nothing about it.

Okay, so we might as well go all the way and screw up weather patterns as well, as if global warming hasn't done enough already.

The point is, we have to tread very carefully here and consider the implications. Cause and effect. Let's say Bill Gates manages to kill a typhoon gestating somewhere in Micronesia. What if the typhoon, had it been allowed to run its course, was destined to bring much-needed rain to, say, Southern China? What if we keep killing typhoons every time they threaten to form? Will that place in Southern China end up with abnormally low rainfall and enter a period of drought? So what happens to the farmers, their crops and their livestock? We don't even have to go as far as Southern China. What about the farmers in northern and central Luzon?

Death and destruction indeed accompany typhoons. However, that blinds us to the fact that typhoons are but a regulating mechanism for Mother Nature. You could probably end up spending less on bolstering disaster preparedness and response in typhoon-prone countries; or funding studies that will enable meteorologists to model typhoons more accurately and predict how they form, and where and when they will strike with more accuracy.

To Rodion's point, Why not? Running an experiment once or twice shouldn't hurt. But only as an academic exercise. We will only end up understanding more about the mechanisms that form and steer typhoons/hurricanes/cyclones. But for this to be used as a "silver bullet" of sorts is a different story.

[romano2717]

Im sure Mr. Gates and his team is not stupid enough not to consider everything you mentioned, but all success in the past are products of accidents and failures which has also become the very foundation of what we have now.