Information Technology

    Location: Near Greenland Project Cost: $50 billion The Problem : Arctic ice is melting, diluting the salty seas with freshwater and, many suspect, weakening the ocean currents that help regulate the global climate by transporting heat around the globe. If these currents were to shut down, the consequences would be unpredictable and dire: immense loss of marine life and fisheries; a reduction in the ability of the ocean to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere; and, some scientists speculate, drastic cooling of Northern Europe. The Fix: Make more Arctic ice, and make it salty. Under normal conditions, warm-water currents like the Gulf Stream carry heat from the tropics to Europe. After a current releases its heat, the water sinks (cold water is more dense than warm; salty more dense than fresh) and flows back to the equatorial regions along the ocean floor. This sinking is the engine that powers global currents. But in one apocalyptic scenario, melted Arctic ice d...

Location: Swiss Alps The Problem Glaciers-Earth's largest freshwater reservoir, collectively covering an area the size of South America-are melting away, shrinking by up to hundreds of feet per year in some places. The Alps alone stand to lose three quarters of its glaciers by 2050, and what's left by the end of the century. The Fix Wrap thawing glaciers in football-field-size synthetic blankets that keep the cold in and the heat out. At least that's what ski resorts in the Swiss Alps are doing. Tired of risking the fate of their industry on the global community's ability to get a grip on rapid climate change, more than a dozen resorts turned to local textile company Fritz Landolt to stop the melting. Called the Ice Protector, Landolt's material is a tough but lightweight dual-layer composite. On top is polyester to reflect ultraviolet light, and on the bottom is polypropylene, a polymer used in military clothing and auto parts, to block heat. When wrapped around a ...