[extropy-chat] Climate skepticism patterns

[Harry Harrison]

> am more ambitious than that.  What if we could warm the poles and cool
> the
> tropics.  Would not that be a good thing?  How about making the deserts

Heat is not enough for life; you also need an energy gradient. While making the poles less reflective by covering them with pants will bring down more solar energy, the total received by artic regions will still be close to zero six months of the year, only reaching a little above (due to the longer day) 0.6 equatorial solar energy units during the summer solstice. This is an interesting calculation to do analytically, btw.

But a warmer south pole would make life easier for mining companies and fossil prospectors.