# Slowing or Averting Global Warming With the Help of Elemental Powers: Part 1 (Fire)

Other posts from this thread will be posted here as these are updated:

# Info

Part 1, (Fire) focuses on what the fire elementals can do.

There are 200 such beings that exist (and have existed for a long time.)

Now, at the beginning of this situation, each being has a starting amount of $$6.997 \times 10^{13}$$ Joules (J) of heat energy in their natural state. They can also absorb heat energy, indirectly or directly (they can absorb it without touching it), up to a capacity of $$4\times 10^{15} \text{J}$$. "Capacity" is the maximum amount of energy (in Joules) they can store. Each elemental emits, at rest, as much heat as a human. They can use this energy--up to their capacity--any way they want, transferring it in any way they like. They can absorb or emit heat at a rate of 4184 KWatts (4184 KiloJoules/second), based off of the calorie unit.

They can exponentially absorb heat energy by, say, using a spark to set something on fire, then absorbing all the heat from that, to exponentially grow (up to their limit). They can naturally absorb heat energy by pulling heat from anything around them (while giving them lots of heat, it also chills/freezes whatever they drew from since they are taking its heat.

While they do have immensely destructive powers, they will not use them to coerce/threaten anyone politicians or millionaires included (Meaning no resources, no funding, no backup.) The rest of the world is currently in semi-denial that the planet is warming, and politicians are split on the topic.

The setting is modern, 2018 level pollution+technology.

Taking into account these limitations and abilities:

• They can travel at the speed of sound and do not tire
• Work 24/7
• Can only use their fire manipulation and heat manipulation powers (shaping, directing, transferring, absorbing, and emitting heat or fire)
• Cannot manipulate matter on a fundamental level (unless by using heat/fire.)
• Can manipulate plasma
• Can interact with people (but they have no other helpers)
• Can touch/manipulate things that are not burning
• Can touch things without heating them (can hold ice/carry wood without setting it on fire)
• Can cool things by absorbing their heat, but can only absorb to their capacity
• Cannot directly cool large bodies of water, or the earth or air
• Each burn air at a rate of 1 lb/hr
• Can be submerged in small bodies of water (pools, small streams, ponds) without getting hurt, but cannot submerge in rivers, lakes, oceans/seas (either running water or large bodies of water) due to the harmful effect of the water magic residing there
• Cannot travel through earth
• They have no resources, funding, or backup
• They can shapeshift (but are still made of fire.) They can reach a size of up to 10 meters in diameter and a height of up to 30 meters (the taller they get, the skinnier). Shapeshifting costs no energy.
• They can fly, but they have the oxygen needs of a human (no going to space)
• They are immortal

# Question

Using these fire powers, how could global warming be averted/slowed?

Answer Must Be:

• canonical
• explanatory

And solutions must

• Be fast (2 year time limit for effects to occur)
• Be useful for cleaning the biosphere/atmosphere
• Use the heat conduction/fire abilities
• Not be very noticeable to the human population (no, e.g, giant flares/blacking out the sky)
• Not harm the environment at all. No polluting air/water/earth heavily. No upset to the natural order or food webs/chains. No killing. No damage to anything.

Thank you to the Sandbox for helping me develop this question

# Potential Close-voters

According to the help center, "Effects of events or world elements, including biology, technology and magic, on specific aspects of that world's societies, cultures, and environment" and "How to achieve a specified effect in a defined world, including by the use of biology, technology or magic, while maintaining in-universe consistency" are on-topic (not story-based).

The help center also encourages that questions "inspire answers explain[ing] "why" and "how." I've worked on keeping this narrow and adding restrictions as needed to make it less and less primarily opinion-based. If you do have an issue with the broadness or subjectiveness of this question, please leave a constructive and explanatory comment so that I can work on fixing this.

Edit Note to Those Concerned or Moderators:

While three answers to this have been deleted, I did not intentionally edit this to invalidate them. One was self-deleted before an edit that would have invalidated it, one was self-deleted after an unintentional edit that partially invalidated it, and one was self-deleted after a discussion in the comments about a loose interpretation of a rule, which was followed by a further constructive edit.

• @user535733 The premise is set already, but I will update it to include the fact that for the purposes of this question the world is exactly the same except for these beings. Thanks for pointing that out Jun 21, 2018 at 18:31
• "Each elemental emits, at rest, no heat" - so..... laws of thermodynamics don't apply? (or they're a perfect crystal at absolute 0) Jun 21, 2018 at 18:44
• Since one premise is that the world is in denial, I see only one realistic answer (coercion) which seems prohibited. Jun 21, 2018 at 18:45
• @user535733 I see your point, however, I believe that since they're supposed to work on their own, there must be some solution. Jun 21, 2018 at 18:46
• Pronoun confusion: Who is supposed to work on whose own? Jun 21, 2018 at 18:48

## 1 Answer

As some have mentioned in the comments, the whole of human history would have changed. For my answer though, I'll just consider what these fire elementals can do.

The answer: not a whole lot. There are two hundred of them, sure, and they contain a lot of energy, but to reduce global warming significantly, we need to curb the use of greenhouse gasses. Some sources, such as livestock, won't be affected at all but we can look at energy generation. At a default of $6.997×10^{13}J$ of energy stored inside them, this is the same as roughly a kilogram of uranium-235. A 1000MWe nuclear reactor needs $27T$ of fuel per year, so each elemental could provide a bit under 20 minutes of energy of uranium. All of them together could provide about 66 hours worth but then they'd be completely drained. So, they won't work as a replacement.

Where they would be useful is as solar converters. If they work how you say, then they're essentially 100% efficient black bodies, absorbing radiation. With the figures you gave (a $10m$ diameter) and solar radiation at the ground being, on average, $1000W/m^2$, they'd absorb $78540J$ per second. Then again, for them to reach their original storage, it'd take about 28 years. With more, we could absolutely stop global warming by using them as solar panels/batteries, but with only 200, no.

The area to focus on is a single line in your question. They can manipulate plasma. There, immediately, is the answer to stopping or slowing global warming. The elementals can't absorb and store enough energy to make themselves useful, but they might be able to achieve fusion. That kind of renewable energy would certainly put the brakes on global warming, assuming it was efficient and worked well. Plus, it could produce plutonium and other fissile materials to work in traditional reactors. Of course, again, 200 is not enough. 170 times this number could power the world (with 2010 estimates) but unless fusion reactors can be designed with a much larger output (I'm using the 500 MW) figure, they can't do a whole lot. Your elementals might be able to slow it down though, especially as fusion is researched.