Editing Nuclear winter (section)

== Mitigation techniques ==
{{See also|Conflict Resolution}}
A number of solutions have been proposed to mitigate the potential harm of a nuclear winter if one appears inevitable. The problem has been attacked at both ends; some solutions focus on preventing the growth of fires and therefore limiting the amount of smoke that reaches the stratosphere in the first place, and others focus on food production with reduced sunlight, with the assumption that the very worst-case analysis results of the nuclear winter models prove accurate and no other mitigation strategies are fielded.

=== Fire control ===
In a report from 1967, techniques included various methods of applying liquid nitrogen, dry ice, and water to nuclear-caused fires.<ref>W. E. Shelberg and E. T. Tracy. "Countermeasure Concepts for Use Against Urban Mass Fires From Nuclear Weapon Attack" U.S. Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory, San Francisco, California 1967.</ref> The report considered attempting to stop the spread of fires by creating [[firebreak]]s by blasting combustible material out of an area, possibly even using nuclear weapons, along with the use of preventative [[Controlled burn|Hazard Reduction Burns]]. According to the report, one of the most promising techniques investigated was [[cloud seeding|initiation of rain from seeding]] of mass-fire thunderheads and other clouds passing over the developing, and then stable, firestorm.

=== Producing food without sunlight ===
{{See also|Impact Winter#Agriculture}}
In the book ''[[Feeding Everyone No Matter What]]'', under the worst-case scenario predictions of nuclear winter, the authors present various unconventional food possibilities. These include natural-gas-digesting bacteria, the most well known being ''[[Methylococcus capsulatus]]'', that is presently used as a feed in [[fish farming]];<ref>- [http://www.unibio.dk/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150212000141/http://www.unibio.dk/|date=2015-02-12}} "UniBio A/S – turns NG to fish food"</ref> [[bark bread]], a long-standing [[famine food]] using the edible [[Phloem|inner bark]] of trees, and part of Scandinavian history during the [[Little Ice Age]]; increased [[fungiculture]] or mushrooms such as the [[honey fungi]] that grow directly on moist wood without sunlight;<ref>Hazeltine, B. & Bull, C. 2003 ''Field Guide to Appropriate Technology''. San Francisco: Academic Press.</ref> and variations of wood or [[cellulosic biofuel]] production, which typically already creates edible [[sugar]]s/[[xylitol]] from inedible cellulose, as an intermediate product before the final step of alcohol generation.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.plant.ca/general/biofuel-process-to-develop-sugar-substitute-cellulose-ethanol-304/ |title=Biofuel process to develop sugar substitute, cellulose ethanol. SunOpta BioProcess Inc. 2010 |access-date=2018-10-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019042641/https://www.plant.ca/general/biofuel-process-to-develop-sugar-substitute-cellulose-ethanol-304/ |archive-date=2018-10-19 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Langan |first1=P. |last2=Gnanakaran |first2=S. |last3=Rector |first3=K. D. |last4=Pawley |first4=N. |last5=Fox |first5=D. T. |last6=Chof |first6=D. W. |last7=Hammelg |first7=K. E. |year=2011 |title=Exploring new strategies for cellulosic biofuels production |journal=Energy & Environmental Science |volume=4 |issue=10 |pages=3820–3833 |doi=10.1039/c1ee01268a |bibcode=2011EnEnS...4.3820L |s2cid=94766888}}</ref> One of the book's authors, mechanical engineer David Denkenberger, states that mushrooms could theoretically feed everyone for three years. Seaweed, like mushrooms, can also grow in low-light conditions. Dandelions and tree needles could provide Vitamin C, and bacteria could provide Vitamin E. More conventional cold-weather crops such as potatoes might get sufficient sunlight at the equator to remain feasible.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bendix |first1=Aria |title=A full-scale nuclear winter would trigger a global famine. A disaster expert put together a doomsday diet to save humanity. |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-survive-after-nuclear-war-what-to-eat-2020-1 |access-date=20 March 2020 |work=Business Insider |date=2020 |archive-date=2020-03-20  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200320052438/https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-survive-after-nuclear-war-what-to-eat-2020-1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Large-scale food stockpiling ===
To feed portions of civilization through a nuclear winter, large stockpiles of food storage prior to the event would have to be accomplished. Such stockpiles should be placed underground, at higher elevations and near the equator to mitigate high altitude UV and radioactive isotopes. Stockpiles should also be placed near populations most likely to survive the initial catastrophe. One consideration is who would sponsor the stockpiling. "There may be a mismatch between those most able to sponsor the stockpiles (i.e., the pre-catastrophe wealthy) and those most able to use the stockpiles (the pre-catastrophe rural poor)."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Maher |first1=T. M. Jr. |last2=Baum |first2=S. D. |year=2013 |title=Adaptation to and recovery from global catastrophe |journal=Sustainability |volume=5 |issue=4 |pages=1461–79 |doi=10.3390/su5041461 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2013Sust....5.1461J }}</ref> The minimum annual global wheat storage is approximately 2 months.<ref>Thien Do, Kim Anderson, B. Wade Brorsen. "The World's wheat supply." ''Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service.''</ref>