Climate change, melting glaciers and ice caps, and rising ocean levels present a catastrophic risk for so much life on this planet. While the danger has been known and solutions are continuously proposed and developed, nothing has taken the role of the answer just yet. In this book, the author lays out a multi-tiered approach to cool the planet by reintroducing land-based water sources, pumping ocean water into areas of the western United States that have become dry basins, and building an economic and rehabilitative program to maintain and reclaim both land and water while simultaneously reducing global temperatures. Inspired by the fjords of Norway, the idea of restoring groundwater and not just desalinating but depositing ocean water into vast tracts of dry, unused land creates land value, job value, and opportunities for both ownership and reduced stress on the resources throughout the country.
While the title implies a purely scientific approach, the author considers multiple avenues of how this plan could impact more than simply climate change. There are sociological, economic, and governmental impacts that this plan could provide, and there is ample time and words dedicated to each of these elements. Readers familiar with the author’s other books will see the same inventive and nuanced problem-solving, as well as the meticulous research and study that has gone into this proposal. Some of the issues tackled in this book may at first seem too large and idealistic, but the facts-and-figures methodology here deals in acres and dollars. Rooting each idea in the real world and discussing what sacrifices would need to be made and where they come from make everything on offer here feel attainable. Readers with a fascination for outside-the-box solutions or those who are concerned about climate change will be fascinated by the ideas in this book.