Models - Identified Model Categories and their Traits

We propose the following models, or meta-ideas, as a basis for idea submissions. There may be collateral issues:

1. Thermocouple

Latent heat can be an energy source; exploiting temperature differential has the added benefit of reducing heat in the source.

2. Heat Exchanger

The average global surface temperature is 15°C, outer space -270°C, which represents an energy potential and the ability to do work.

3. Atmospheric Aerosol

A reflective layer in the atmosphere can deflect sunlight; less sunlight means less trapped heat.

4. CO₂ Extraction

Reducing CO₂ levels in the composition of the atmosphere will allow more heat to be radiated into space.

5. Active Deflector

Even a very small object with a variable opacity or albedo, placed in a helio-geostationary (Lagrange Point 1) orbit in space could reduce the incidence of sunlight.

6. Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy as a power source for direct air capture, DAC; the heat in Earth's core represents a giant battery.

7. Local Hotspots

Introducing areas where the CO₂ levels are depleted would mean that there would be more heat funneled into space.

8. CO₂ Displacement

Lower CO₂ density can be achieved by displacement; electrolizing water releases oxygen and creates an energy source (H₂) that can be stored for later use.

9. Ocean Fertilization

Seeding the oceans with minerals to increase algae growth means more CO₂ will be absorbed and sequestered on the ocean floor.

10. Advanced Sequestration

Biological sequestration as part of photosynthesis, or as a fertilizer, or physical sequestration underground, in concrete or other building, or raw material.

11. Rock Weathering

Adding charcoal or Basalt rock dust to the topsoil has been demonstrated to improve crop yields and sequester greenhouse gases.

12. Volcanalogy

Volcanic eruptions emit aerosols that are beneficial in reflecting sunlight back into space, thus reducing the incident energy.

13. Albedo Conditioning

The loss of land and sea ice is detrimental to the reflectivity of the Earth. Increasing the albedo factor would mean less heat absorbed at the surface.

14. Microreactor

Microreactors could provide a near limitless energy source to power the machines necessary to extract CO₂, and other tasks.

15. Global Thermostat

A device for coordinating the overall heating and cooling of the climate and keeping temperatures within a favorable range.

16. Ocean Deacidification

The ocean tides can be harnessed to provide an energy source, this might also provide an opportunity for deacidification.

17. Thermoacoustic Cooling

Conditioning waste heat or solar radiation with acoustic waves can produce significant cooling.

18. Ocean Farming

In addition to algae, other ocean-dwelling organisms such as seaweed and coral are efficient absorbers of carbon and potentially provide a nutrient-dense food source.

19. Wave Rendering

Acoustic or electromagnetic waves with the appropriate set of resonant frequencies could induce aggregation or degradation of desirable molecular bonds in greenhouse gases.

20. Insect Farming

Bugs are an important source of protein, and have long been a staple of human diet. Insect farming presents an opportunity to replace animal protein with insect protein.

21. Lightning Induction

Lightning is capable of removing a significant amount of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. A combination of cloud seeding and terrestrial lightning rods could also provide an energy source.

22. Culinary Arts

The preparation of foods from raw ingredients is arguably, essential to human health. Changing the human diet of meat, dairy and processed foods to whole food, plant-based has merit.

23. Resource Stewardship

A global council for natural resources could potentially buy, or take conservatorship of, natural resources like the Amazon and boreal forests, and stranded fossil fuel assets.

24. Energy Abundance

A ubiquitous clean energy source that is freestanding, or supplied via an existing distribution network could reduce reliance on fossil fuels almost overnight.

25. Hydrogen Battery

Hydrogen has the distinct advantage that it can be produced sustainably on-the-fly from sunlight and water and converted to electricity via a reversible fuel-cell.

26. Applied Hormetics

A paradigm shift in the consensus of collective human consciousness for example "All life is sacred" could precipitate a mass rejection of some addictive impulse.

27. Emissions Moratorium

The complete cessation of all industrial greenhouse gas emissions, or "War on Climate", to return the CO₂ concentration of the atmosphere to pre-industrial levels.

28. Regenerative Agriculture

Living soil has the ability to sequester significant carbon, benefiting from animal grazing, moisture retention and generating it's own microclimate.

29. Humidity Extraction

Arid land can be reclaimed by extracting moisture from the atmosphere to service root crops, or replenish aquifers.

30. Radical Adaptation

Periodic shutdown of carbon-positive industries, since this may be order(s) of magnitude less expensive than the burgeoning costs of mitigation, or equivalent direct air capture (DAC).

31. Solar Dimming*

A photon takes about one million years to exit the Sun. Any lengthening of this process or otherwise dimming would reduce the energy incident to the Earth.

32. Orbital Distance*

Increasing the Earth's orbital distance from the Sun would result in diminished incidence of sunlight.

33. Asteroid Impact*

The very thing that annihilated the dinosaurs ~65M years ago, on a smaller scale, might create desirable aerosols.

34. Miscellaneous♱

Everything else outlandish or outrageous, that just might fly!

*  These models are believed to be impractical in the required timeframe and are included for completeness.
♱ If you feel your idea deserves a different characterization you may request a new model.