Bill Gates came up with an idea on how to stop hurricanes. Hurricanes are fueled by warm water therefore slowed by cooler water. So in order to stop or slow hurricanes we need cooler water in front of the hurricane. Gates' idea is to place barges in the path of the storm with 500 feet long conduits on them; conduits are tubes that transfer fluids. So the warmer ocean water would be pushed down and the cooler water would be brought up. This sounds like a great idea; this is a chance to potentially stop hurricanes.
On the other hand there's issues with the actually science of hurricanes and the cost of this. There would have to be such a big change in the water temperature in order for the hurricane to be effected in the slightest way. Plus the intensity of the middle of the storm may go down but some scientists think that the outside, that has the strong winds and causes the flooding, wouldn't be affected at all. The economic side of this would cost about as much as it would to rebuild after a hurricane.
Although this would be amazing and could benefit many people I don't think it's worth it. Scientists think that this is more of a "Plan C" type of idea, and I agree. If we've tried everything and one hurricane season is absolutely terrible we may as well try it. Doubling the cost of the rebuild for a hurricane isn't worth it. What would happen if we put out all this money to try and prevent the hurricane and it still happens? Then we have to give more money to rebuild the area. Last of all, messing with the temperatures of the ocean could be disasters for the ocean life that need the certain temperatures, and the hurricane mixes up the warm and cold water as is.-Breann Lehr
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