Saving the Polar Ice Caps

Okay I admit that on the first take this idea might sound a little crazy. I reminded myself however of that saying that ‘all great ideas must at first sound crazy to the existing paradigm…’ or some such thing. You might know who said it (please send me an email if you do). So I am throwing this idea out as one that might need you to stop your knee from giving a habitual ‘jerk’ thus preventing you from immediately proclaiming to all and sundry ‘Ridiculous!’.

‘Let’s cover the polar caps in a massive white reflective blanket!’

Yes you read right. The good oil on the bad outcome is that the polar caps are melting, that as they do so less heat will be reflected and more will be absorbed into the now (exposed) darker areas of the artic land mass, thus accelerating the problem.

So let’s cover the polar ice caps (the Arctic in particular). Lord knows for the sake of ‘art’ the entire white cliffs of Dover were covered in a material shroud. Lord knows that the average advertising panel n a giant Billboard promoting perfume, cars, weightloss and fast food is big enough to cover a netball court and we thrown thousands of those into the tip every year. So why can’t we just cover the most exposed areas in a solar blanket to reflect sunlight, keep the ground cover white and hopefully delay or avert the melting?

Yes, yes I know it’s a big ask requiring lots of effort and more consideration of potential adverse impacts. But surely those potential impacts would be less adverse than the ones coming when the caps melt?