Outlandish Geoengineering Schemes: Five Historical Plans to Remake Earth’s Climate

Five schemes have been proposed to alter Earth’s climate: the Atlantropa dam across Gibraltar to lower the Mediterranean; a Soviet plan for a Bering Strait dam or a 3,000 sq km ridge excavation; Harry Wexler’s idea to use ten hydrogen bombs to warm the Arctic; Russia’s Project Znamya, which launched reflective satellites to create a “second moon” over the Arctic; and Laurie Hogan’s 1979 proposal for a mountain range in Australia.

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• 1930s – Herman Sörgel proposes Atlantropa dam.

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• 1948 – Soviet plan includes PM Borisov’s Bering Strait dam or ridge excavation.

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• 1940s-1962 – U.S. Weather Bureau scientist Harry Wexler advocates ten hydrogen bombs for Arctic warming.

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• 1990s – Project Znamya launches reflective satellites for a second moon.

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• 1979 – Australian author Laurie Hogan proposes a 2,000 km mountain range; forms Engineered Australia party for 1983 election.

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Atlantropa would lower the Mediterranean by 200 m. The Soviet plan required a 3,000 sq km seafloor excavation. Wexler’s concept called for ten hydrogen bombs; three detonations cleared 700 m of canal. Project Znamya’s satellites illuminated a 5 km patch. Hogan’s range would be 2,000 km long, 4 km high, 10 km wide, include 49 cities and 180,000 fish farms.

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These historic schemes demonstrate the enormous material, financial and ecological costs of large-scale climate engineering and illustrate why policymakers debate whether to pursue geoengineering or focus on mitigation and adaptation.

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U.S. climatologist PE Lydolph observed that the Soviet Union suffered from a chronic lack of heat. Sörgel pledged additional engineering solutions to protect Venice’s canals. Wexler argued a limited number of hydrogen bombs could dramatically warm the Arctic. Russian engineers claimed satellite mirrors could extend daylight. Hogan asserted a fabricated mountain range could reshape Australia’s climate and economy.

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Economists warned Atlantropa and the Soviet dam would be financially prohibitive. The Soviet nuclear river-diversion test stopped after unexpected radiation. Project Znamya was abandoned when satellite deployment proved uneconomical. The article calls these efforts evidence of “monstrous egotism.”

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The sources do not provide peer-reviewed feasibility studies for the Bering Strait excavation, lack quantitative climate impact models for the nuclear proposal, and give limited ecological data for Hogan’s mountain range, leaving substantial knowledge gaps.

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• “In general, the country lacks heat.” — PE Lydolph, US climatologist

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• “special measures” — Herman Sörgel, German engineer

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• “The initial batch of satellites provided a 5km patch of light.” — Project Znamya, Russian space program

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• “The new range would be 2,000km long, 4km high and 10km wide.” — Laurie Hogan, Australian author

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The article ends by framing a pivotal decision: to pursue geoengineering technologies or to adapt to an increasingly hostile climate, a choice that continues to shape policy discussions worldwide.

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