Here's a novel idea:

A wild idea to combat global warming suggests creating an artificial ring of small particles or spacecrafts around Earth to shade the tropics and moderate climate extremes.

There would be side effects, proponents admit. An effective sunlight-scattering particle ring would illuminate our night sky as much as the full Moon, for example.

And the price tag would knock the socks off even a big-budget agency like NASA: $6 trillion to $200 trillion for the particle approach. Deploying tiny spacecraft would come at a relative bargain: a mere $500 billion tops.

But the idea, detailed today in the online version of the journal Acta Astronautica, illustrates that climate change can be battled with new technologies, according to one scientist not involved in the new work.

Did no one heed the fate of the Cassidines?

Did no one heed the fate of the Cassidines?

Are you watching "General Hospital" again?

I'm watching the president here at ft. bragg (on tv). please make me turn it off before i scream.

Stephanie, turn off the TV. Watch the baby instead, much much much more fun!

Um, getting the tiny particles up there is not that hard. However, if the tiny particles bring on Global Winter, how do you get them down again?

signed, has no ideas about the Cassidines

she's hiccupping in her sleep. very cute!

very cute!

See, I told you much more fun! Also? Way cuter!

Baby is soo much more soothing.

lisah, the 3:30ish storm parked over your part of town for probably 30 minutes. It was a doozy. For my route home, there were warnings for along Greenspring for trees (and it looked like Cold Spring got one, but it was cleared by 5:30), electrical lines on Park Heights and Liberty, as well as screwed up traffic lights (3 out on my way home.)

Of course, just had an even bigger one end not an hour ago. A whole freaking hour of pouring rain, winds and nonstop lightening. A LOT of nearby hits. Enough to make me come in off the balcony (and I'm someone who lived on a ridgeline and has been stuck on a mesa during electrical storms.) The bolts were sky-ground and that close.

So.much.fun.

And I didn't lose power. I love electricity.

Devi is a little jumpy now. She hid for it. Mister Kitty, OTOH....he doesn't notice.

Water is still pouring off my roof and the rains been stopped for 45 minutes, at least.

There are also a lot of fireflies dancing out on the lawn. Pretty.