If we put white “styrofoam” in the ocean to replace sea ice, would it stop climate change?
Resurfacing the Arctic Ocean with ice substitutes probably would not work to stop climate change. One reason is that the Arctic is a vast region. If we attempted to bring the Arctic back to long-term average levels of “ice,” we would need to add approximately 2.6 million square kilometers (1 million square miles) of foam to the Arctic Ocean. This would be the equivalent of covering Alaska and Texas, or ten United Kingdoms, with polystyrene foam. Studies would also need to be done concerning the environmental impact of introducing such vast quantities of a human-made substance in the ocean, the albedo difference between ice and foam, the longevity of the solution, the cost of such an effort, and the carbon dioxide emitted during foam production and placement. That said, even if foam were a viable solution that was immediately undertaken, it still would not halt climate change right away. The climate system already has some heating yet to be realized; it has not yet caught up with the ef
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