Earth rings for planetary environment control

An artificial planetary ring about the Earth, composed of passive particles or controlled spacecraft with parasols, is proposed to reduce global warming. A flat ring from 1.2 to 1.6 Earth radii would shade mainly the tropics, moderating climate extremes, and counteract global warming. A preliminary design of the ring is developed, and a one-dimensional climate model is used to evaluate its performance. Earth, lunar, and asteroidal material sources are compared to determine the costs of the particle ring and the spacecraft ring. Environmental concerns and effects on existing satellites in Earth orbit are addressed. The particle ring endangers LEO satellites, is limited to cooling only, and lights the night many times as bright as the full moon. It would cost an estimated $6-200 trillion. The ring of controlled satellites with reflectors has other attractive uses, and would cost an estimated $125-500 billion. (c) 2005 Published by Elsevier Ltd.