Arizona-shaped sun shades: A good idea or bushwa?

Ihave at hand a somewhat long note from a guy who believes the state, or at least Maricopa County, should start a program to launch into outer space a large panel to shade us. He proposes a shutter-like device to be placed in orbit to cast a state- or county-shaped shadow over the state.

Apparently, the shutters could be adjusted to increase or diminish the amount of sunlight hitting the county or state to keep us cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

I’ve heard dumber ideas, although at the moment I am trying to remember just when that was.

Aside from the logistical and environmental problems, here’s one big problem as I see it: Even if you could shape and locate this panel to affect just the county or just the state, who gets to control it?

The Legislature? The county Board of Supervisors? A special commission? A daily online vote?

I get so many questions from people arguing about their home thermostats that I don’t even bother running them anymore.

So who is going to control the thermostat for all us?

I know you people like to think outside of the box, and I’d hate to discourage that. Get back to me on this one after you think it through a bit.

My mother used the word “bushwa,” meaning nonsense. I am curious about how this word came about. She was of German descent. Any ideas? Bushwa is a piece of American slang that came into use in the 1920s.

It is a euphemism for a more earthy word used for the manure of male cattle.