Butterflies to Fight Global Warming

A fascinating and unexpected benefit from butterly breeing.

AP, Boulder, Colorado Scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research today announced a bold new plan to fight global climate change. Dr. Beverly Crusher, chair of the Center’s Global Climate Change Task Force, notes that recent advances in breeding techniques now enable large-scale production of butterflies. "The wedding industry alone requires the breeding of tens of thousands of butterflies for release each year. By expanding production by two or perhaps three orders of magnitude, we estimate that a significant cooling could be achieved. The combined flapping of millions of wings could reduce global temperatures by as much as two degrees Fahrenheit." Researchers are currently studying improvements to the approach. "By releasing the butterflies near bodies of water, the cooling effect of the leipdotrogeinc winds could be enhanced by evaporative cooling," notes Crusher. Although there is still a lot of work to be done, Crusher estimates that the first butterfly releases specifically attempting to reduce temperatures could begin as early as 2016.