Are "solar shields" an answer to global warming?

One idea for a solar shield is mirrors in space reflecting some solar radiation away from the Earth. This would probably be more expensive than cutting down on CO2 emissions though, as a side benefit, we would develop the technology for space exploration.

The downside of space mirrors is that they could be used as weapons.

Another idea is to pump sulphur dioxide gas into the atmosphere,

According to Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution of Washington and Damon Matthews of Concordia University, Canada, this could be a quick fix. At a price tag of about $100 million it would be much cheaper than switching away from fossil fuels.

See New Scientist:

http://environment.newscientist.com/article/dn11993-solar-shield-could-be-quick-fix-for-global-warming.html

My own feeling is that if a sulphur dioxide shield can be shown to work THAT'S WHAT WILL HAPPEN. Does anyone see any alternative? Are we going to stop China and India building coal-fired power stations? Are the rich countries of North America and Europe really going to reduce their CO2 emissions by 50% or more?

Can anything stop politicians taking what may appear to be a quick and easy way out of a dilemma?

Any comments?

have you tried breathing sulphur dioxide? i seem to recall having to put it in the exhaust hood in chem class. hard to sell putting poison gas in the air, but if you can sell the iraq war to a credulous american public, i suppose you get used to living in a gas mask.

and there are spin-offs, fashion designer unisex antigas burqas come to mind.

The concentration would not be noticeable DEMOS. A little SO2 or other cooling gas goes a long way. We're talking parts per million.

That's not really the issue. The real issue is some of the other environmental impacts. Climate is a complex system.

Steven, the New Scientist article you refer us to discusses sulphate particles, not sulphur dioxide. SO2 dissolves in water to produce sulphuric acid. SO2 in the atmosphere gives rise to acid rain, (http://www.ausetute.com.au/acidrain.html) which can be enormously environmentally destructive.

Oops, yep, you're right.

Sorry

thx, ludwig- i'll make sure the burqas are impervious to sulpuric rain.