Technogaianism, where should I start?

[SolarpunkFan]

You've got the right idea. Control the things you can control, and work toward the greater good.

Okay, I'll work on what I can immediately do.

In the meantime, would it be uncalled for to ask for some input/critique of the latest post? I think it's sound for the most part, but I want to be certain.

[madd0ct0r]

Superalloys? Pah. we've been building strucutres in the sea since the victorians. 1) corrosion needs air, so the deeper water parts of the pipe will corrode at fractions of millimeters a year, even without any protection system. Speaking of protection systems, paint works quite well. We use stainless reinforcement in some coastal bridges, but they often have a design life of 120-200 years and strict maintenance requirements. For a big pipe system, just patching or replacing the pipe every 20-30 years is cheap.
More iron might well trigger alage growth and turn the area into a wildlife haven.

The limiting factor will be surviving north sea storms and maintaining them in rough weather, not rust. We use helicopters to get workers out to wind turbines in rough weather. It's not excatly green, and your pipes won't be out of the waves, so can only be accessed by boat in the calm...

a major limit is this is a stop gap. It's mining a non-renewable resource (cool deep water) to deal with a consistent heat issue.

[Broomstick]

Critique:

1) You speak of reversing AGW is a given. It's not, because
----a) we may not actually have the technology to do this
----b) we risk negative knock-on effects, which could be severe
----c) lack of political will
----d) lack of resources

You do not address a or b although you do touch on c and d.

2) It may be better from several standpoints to adapt to rising sea levels rather than try to engineer them away, due to realistic limits on technology, resources, and political will, however
----a) that leaves the problem of refugees who lose their lands - this is already occurring on low-lying island nations in the Pacific and Indian oceans
----b) it's not just a matter of changing coastlines and drowned cities, altering ocean currents could have profound effects on climate. For example, the Gulf Stream keeps the British Isles much warmer than they would otherwise be, if that current stops or alters enough the UK won't get hotter, it will get colder even if the rest of the globe heats up.
----c) climate change, regardless of origin, regardless of whether hotter, colder, wetter, or drier, is going to play havoc with agriculture until a new normal is reached.

3) You assume that the piping for your massive hypothetical project be metal, but why? Pipes can be made of many materials. Would concrete pipes be better? Is there some plastic/synthetic that would work better? This is an example of an area where attempting to research or speak with an expert on marine engineering would be very useful. The problem of building durable structures that can withstand salt water goes way back, that's why the Roman Empire invented a type of concrete suitable for marine structures. Yes, that sort of engineering goes that far back. At least.

4) Finally, what are the ecological consequences of such an artificial upwelling. Will you get algal blooms due to an increase in nutrients? Some deep waters might contain dissolved gasses of various sorts, depending on deep water conditions. This might be methane, which is a stronger green house gas than carbon dioxide. Maybe hydrogen sulfide, which is toxic to most aerobic lifeforms (that's us and most of the things we eat). What will that do to ocean currents and weather? Changes in the currents/upwellings off the coast of South America are what give us the El Nino/La Nina weather cycles, which affect everything from sea catch to land-based agriculture in the entire western hemisphere (and probably more). In order to "rebuild" Greenland you'll need something at least that profound, what is that going to do the weather and agriculture? See why I say we might be better off adapting rather than adding even more change and variables?

[SolarpunkFan]

Thanks, you all make good points.

I may have an answer to some of your points Broomstick, but I'm a bit burnt out right now so I'll try answering them tomorrow.

[madd0ct0r]

Critique:

3) You assume that the piping for your massive hypothetical project be metal, but why? Pipes can be made of many materials. Would concrete pipes be better? Is there some plastic/synthetic that would work better? This is an example of an area where attempting to research or speak with an expert on marine engineering would be very useful. The problem of building durable structures that can withstand salt water goes way back, that's why the Roman Empire invented a type of concrete suitable for marine structures. Yes, that sort of engineering goes that far back. At least.

Unless we're talking very large diameter pipes, the concrete would require more material in the skin than steel, and concrete is much harder to produce in a low C02 way. It's hard to beat steel at this scale.