Climate Engineering
The speaker raises a number of concerns about geoengineering, including:
- The lack of historical precedent
- The potential for unintended consequences
- The risk of moral hazard
- The possibility of commercialization
- The interest of the military
- The risk of unilateral action by rogue nations
- The potential for violating existing treaties
- The potential for unknown side effects
- The potential for altering fundamental human relationships to nature
- The hubris of those who believe they can control the planet
- The lack of real-world testing
- The need to focus on reducing emissions before resorting to geoengineering
- The possibility that geoengineering is based on the false confidence of charlatans and scientists.
The speaker concludes by asking whether geoengineering is a viable solution to climate change, or whether it is a dangerous and untested technology that should be avoided at all costs.
Rainmaking by lighting massive fires (James Espy 1839, Eliza Leslie “The Rain King,” 1942)
This method of rainmaking involves setting large fires in order to create clouds and rainfall.
Giant reflectors in orbit
These reflectors would be placed in orbit around the Earth in order to reflect sunlight back into space, which would help to cool the planet.
Chemicals to save ozone
These chemicals would be sprayed into the atmosphere in order to help restore the ozone layer, which protects the Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation.
“Fog Dispersal Apparatus” Cloud Seeing
This device uses lasers to disperse fog, which can help to improve visibility and safety.
Genetic Engineered Crops
(linked to Climate Change by McKibben in the 80’s) These crops have been genetically modified to be more resistant to drought and other climate change-related challenges.
Greening Deserts
This process involves planting trees and other vegetation in deserts in order to help restore them and make them more habitable.
Growing trees
Trees help to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change.
See: Paul Crutzen – Geoengineering & the Anthropocene(Age of Humans)
Paul Crutzen is a scientist who coined the term “Anthropocene” to describe the current geological epoch, which is characterized by human activity. He has also researched geoengineering, which is the deliberate large-scale manipulation of the Earth’s environment in order to combat climate change.
Fixing the Sky – Jim Fleming
Jim Fleming’s book “Fixing the Sky” is a combination of perspectives on weather modification. The idea of controlling the weather is not new, but it is often seen as a misreading of our capabilities. The book discusses a number of potential methods for weather modification, including the use of aerosols in the atmosphere, iron fertilization of the sea, and pumping liquid CO2 into the deep sea. However, these methods are all extremely speculative and have the potential to cause serious problems if they are not implemented carefully.
The book also discusses the history of weather modification, including the work of rainmakers in the early 20th century and the planetary burp that occurred in Cameroon in the 1990s. The book concludes by arguing that we need to be careful about the potential consequences of weather modification before we attempt to implement any of these methods.
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