Hurricane-killing, space station.

we understand very little about our Earth, but there seems to be a consensus that our actions have changed it already. why is it that we think if we just put good intentions behind new actions we will come up with something good? we should accept that we know very little about Earth and do only those things which will not create more problems. What we need is the restoration of the wetlands that used to protect our coastlines (all over the world) from the effects of hurricanes. We have stripped them down to bear sand and planted mile after mile of housing, and yet somehow we "don't understand" why the effects of the hurricanes are so much worse than they used to be. It's because we have removed the natural barrier and replaced it with an artificial one. Now, instead of just fixing the problem- restoring the natural barriers and building sturdier- we create a machine to destroy the hurricane. That doesn't make any sense. Our constructions fail, we know that. The Earth only fails when we mess with her. If we fix her then she will not fail us.

As far as building to combat hurricanes being too expensive, as with any other products the prices would come down as more people used them. As local builders got used to the methods of constructing for hurricanes they would take less time to build them. This argument doesn't fly in California or Tokyo where they deal with significant earthquakes- there they build to very high standards. True it is more expensive to live in these cities, but preparing for a hurricane and earthquake are entirely different. Either way, I think it's worth it to spend the extra money.

I really hope they leave this one with the James Bond bad guy association SPECTAR in the realm of sci-fi! I think the Bond flick was Die Another Day where they had a space-based solar array that was converted into a weapon. PG&E is listed as a parnter in developement, however I would not be suprised if there was an off-book defense contract there as well!

golden eye?
diamonds are for ever?

Bitchin!

I think we messed this planet up enough already.

beam+humans=bacon!

An updated version of "Archimedes Mirror". Seriously, Hurricanes also provide much needed rainfall, as they move inland. They serve as nature's way to recharge aquifers.

Didn't they make a James Bond movie about that?

that sound expensive

my god we're all gonna die.

wasn't there a james bond movie about this?

I don't use the "r" word lightly or often, but this is just fucking retarded.

I am sure it is just theoretical musings. Look, I live on the Louisiana coast, about 5 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. I am more than fine with the possibility of more hurricanes hitting my home. It's not the safest place to live at times, but then again neither is the Midwest when spring gives to summer. I like it here, and I have a pretty good deal going with Mother Nature. Shit comes, I leave.

i think its pretty wild we would even be considering something like this, i can kind of see how these beams of heat could weaken a storm because it is the low pressures along cool temperatures of the ocean that cause a huge development in storm systems, but this has helped areas in droughts and yes to cool other areas, this is just really stupid, next we are going to move on to controlling the ocean, maybe even the wind! yeah!...sounds to me like we are flirting with the idea of being Greek Gods....fun idea but absolutely insane...

This is idiotic, it could be used as a weapon against anyone, anywhere. Why is everybody so dumb?

Sounds like a company is looking to make billions in taxpayer dollars in order to hand the government a potential weapon that could be used anywhere on the globe - including its own populace.

I liked MoonLoon's point : hurricanes cool the water. Ocean convection is already at risk because polar temperature differentials are going to be affected by reflectivity losses from melting snow/ice and lack of massive heat absorption from change of state from ice to water. Throwing more heat into an already unstable tropical sink should result in worse weather yet.

Cool so if the satellite gets hacked then someone will be able to target an area .6 to 6 miles wide with a giant fucking laser beam. Sounds like a great plan to me.

I did not have time to go into detail, before. Now i will take off. Hurricanes are Natures way to control the climate. Any idiot filing a patent knows this fact. This just another scam seeking government funds. I get so sick of this stuff being posted every day. Just wait ;in 90 to 180 days we will hear of them getting gov't. financing for this project! And one of their 'pocket" politicians will be touting the benefits of this research!

Mother nature is still gon whip up a killer ass hurricane. lol The idea is nice...jus know that mother nature still wins in the end.

if hitler had one of these, well, you know...

this sounds great: fun and exciting although incredibly stupid

As if we haven't messed with the earth enough...

Hurricanes are needed to prevent overheating of tropical waters.

wouldn't it be more intelligent to just build structurally sound buildings or build in non-hurricane prone areas rather than fuck with the weather patterns on the planet?

aren't we already fucking with mother nature enough?

warning bells are ringing.

nope! i dont like it! if its used i will be scared even tho it might appear to helping i dont think the like of man really think about cause and effect in the long run not to mention the butterfly effect of an allready fragile enviroment we call home.

sweet dreams

I like in this picture how they labeled "space". Haha.