Geoengineering is the idea, and just an idea so far, of mitigating the effects of global warming by global-wide projects. One idea is to throw tons of sulfate aerosols into the upper atmosphere, much as volcanoes do, to deflect the incoming rays of the sun. The cooling would be similar to the chill the earth experienced after the eruption of Mount Saint Helens or when Krakatoa blew its top. Another idea is to deploy to the oceans great ships specifically designed to spew large volumes of seawater into the air, with the hope that the additional vapor will act much as the clouds do and cool the ever-warming earth. One almost science fiction scenario has us shooting large mirrors into orbit around the earth. Geoengineering seems very new, but the idea goes back at least to 1977, with the concept being considered in the very first issue of the journal Climate Change.[i]
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| Design proposed by engineer Stephen Salter of an unmanned ship that would spray seawater into the atmosphere. Image from What is Geoengineering? The Guardian 2/18/2011guardian.co.uk |
These ideas scare me. Maybe not Cold War nuclear annihilation scary, but at least The Day the Earth Stood Still kind of scary. If you think about it, though, things are already scary. We’ve already been busy geoengineering the planet by inadvertently enriching the atmosphere of the earth with more and more CO2 and subsequently warming the planet, acidifying the oceans, and melting the glaciers. Research, at least computer modeling, has been performed on the different scenarios. At most what can be said about any one of the proposed actions is, like so many scientific papers say, more research needs to be done.
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| Klaatu, barada nicto? A computer generated image of a giant reflector. A solution to global warming? Or The Day the Earth Stood Still? Image from NewScientist www.newscientist.com |
Besides the normal skepticism that we should have of adding tons of sulfates to the atmosphere or putting aluminum bumbershoots in orbit, there are the political questions: what country or countries would take it upon them selves to initiate geoengineering? Would it be done through the UN? What if India wants to perform geoengineering and the Czech Republic does not? How would such a disagreement be resolved?
Part of the objections that a lot of environmentalists raise with geoengineering is that it is a bandage over a more fundamental problem, that we are pumping CO2 by the billions of tons into the atmosphere every year. Ever more CO2 will mean ever more sulfates or giant parasols that we will have to put in the atmosphere or orbit.
But geoengineering of some sort may be approaching a reality sometime soon. Some scientists, as well as others, have been calling for geoengineering programs for years. The difference now is that Bill Gates and a few other wealthy individuals are giving financial backing to some of these scientists.[ii]
One thing to remember in any equation: once dollars enter the picture, things start to happen. Bill Gates may have the best of intentions. But a fundamental question is: Should a small number of wealthy individuals have such influence over policies and procedures that have global ramifications? There are some people, such as the Canadian tar sands billionaire, Murray Edwards,[iii] who are investing, and could possibly find further riches, through the profits provided by geoengineering. Should people like Murray be allowed to profit from fixing a problem that they are responsible for creating in the first place?
[i] Marchetti, Cesare On Geoengineering and CO Problem Climate Change 1977, Vol. 1 Issue 1, p59
[ii] Videl, John The Guardian Bill Gates backs climate scientists lobbying for large-scale geoengineering 2/5/2012 http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/feb/06/bill-gates-climate-scientists-geoengineering
[iii] ibid
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