geoengineering, the large-scale manipulation of a specific process central to controlling Earth’s climate for the purpose of obtaining a specific benefit. Global climate is controlled by the amount of solar radiation received by Earth and also by the fate of this energy within the Earth system—that is, how much is absorbed by Earth’s surface and how much is reflected or reradiated back into space.
Why geoengineering is bad?
Some geoengineering technologies are ill-contrived. Albedo modification is dangerous and does not address the initial problem of atmospheric carbon. But removing some carbon from the atmosphere may buy us some time in the difficult transition ahead.
Why is geoengineering bad?
Reasons to Oppose Geoengineering
- Negative Impacts & Magical Claims. Ocean fertilization involves dumping thousands of tonnes of iron into the sea to stimulate plankton growth.
- The Technofix Approach vs. Addressing Root Causes. ...
- The Geoengineering Clique. Newt Gingrich is a recent geoengineering advocate. ...
- Solutions to Climate Change Already Exist. ...
- Governance and Weaponization. ...
Is geoengineering bad?
With so much at stake, there is reason to worry about what we don't know. The reasons why geoengineering may be a bad idea are manifold, though a moderate investment in theoretical geoengineering research might help scientists to determine whether or not it is a bad idea.
What would Geoengineering Project into the atmosphere?
Proposals for geoengineering projects sound like something out of science fiction. Pumping aerosols into the upper atmosphere to make clouds more reflective, for example. Or fertilizing oceans with iron to promote the growth of plankton and algae so they consume more carbon dioxide.
What are some examples of geoengineering?
Some proposed techniques include:Afforestation. Engaging in a global-scale tree planting effort.Biochar. ... Bio-energy with carbon capture and sequestration. ... Ambient Air Capture. ... Ocean Fertilisation. ... Enhanced Weathering. ... Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement.
What is geoengineering in simple terms?
Geoengineering, also known as climate engineering, describes a range of ways to intervene on a large scale in the Earth's natural systems – the oceans, soils and atmosphere – to directly combat climate change.
What is the purpose of geoengineering?
Geoengineering is a deliberate, large-scale intervention carried out in the Earth's natural systems to reverse the impacts of climate change, according to the Oxford Geoengineering Programme. This involves techniques to physically manipulate the global climate to cool the planet.
What are the side effects of geoengineering?
3 Disadvantages of GeoengineeringIt introduces unknown climate risks. Geoengineering projects could alter Earth systems in unintended ways. ... It may be ineffective. Geoengineering projects involve unproven technologies. ... It may be financially unfeasible.
Will geoengineering have negative effects on the environment?
Geoengineering will have no negative effects on the environment. Carbon is found only in living organisms.
What companies are geoengineering?
According to Greenbiz, there are only a few companies currently using geoengineering technologies for environmental repair. The first of those is Carbon Engineering, a company in which Bill Gates has already invested millions. The other is Global Thermostat.
Who invented geoengineering?
The first use of the term geoengineering in approximately the sense defined above was by Marchetti in the early 1970s to describe the mitigation of the climatic impact of fossil fuel combustion by the injection of CO2 into the deep ocean (14).
What are the two main categories of geoengineering?
Geoengineering is conventionally split into two broad categories: The first is carbon geoengineering, often also called carbon dioxide removal (CDR). The other is solar geoengineering, often also called solar radiation management (SRM), albedo modification, or sunlight reflection.
What are the main strategies of geoengineering?
Geoengineering tends to be separated into two main strands: techniques which aim to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and the much more controversial proposals to reflect sunlight away from the Earth.
Does geoengineering present a moral hazard?
The Article finds it likely that geoengineering efforts will undermine mainstream strategies to combat climate change and suggests potential measures for ameliorating this moral hazard.
Is geoengineering good for the environment?
Geoengineering, the large-scale modification of Earth's climate, is worth exploring because countries have been cutting their emissions too slowly to make any near-term impact on climate change.
Is geoengineering a permanent solution?
Geoengineering, however, is not a permanent solution. It can never be interrupted without disastrous consequences. And it does not stop ocean acidification as a result of CO2 absorption, which is as much a contributor to mass extinction of sea life as temperature increase.
Is geoengineering a solution to climate change?
Geoengineering or climate engineering has a range of approaches to remove carbon dioxide from our atmosphere and counteract Global Warming by cooling the planet.
Does geoengineering present a moral hazard?
The Article finds it likely that geoengineering efforts will undermine mainstream strategies to combat climate change and suggests potential measures for ameliorating this moral hazard.
Who came up with geoengineering?
The first use of the term geoengineering in approximately the sense defined above was by Marchetti in the early 1970s to describe the mitigation of the climatic impact of fossil fuel combustion by the injection of CO2 into the deep ocean (14).
How does stratospheric aerosol injection work?
Stratospheric aerosol injection is a solar radiation management (srm) geoengineering or climate engineering approach that uses tiny reflective particles or aerosols to reflect sunlight into space in order to cool the planet and reverse or stop Global Warming.
When was geoengineering first used?
Geoengineering proposals were first developed in the middle of the 20th century. Relying on technologies developed during World War II, such proposals were designed to alter weather systems in order to obtain more favourable climate conditions on a regional scale.
How does geoengineering affect climate?
geoengineering, the large-scale manipulation of a specific process central to controlling Earth’s climate for the purpose of obtaining a specific benefit. Global climate is controlled by the amount of solar radiation received by Earth and also by the fate of this energy within the Earth system—that is, how much is absorbed by Earth’s surface and how much is reflected or reradiated back into space. The reflectance of solar radiation is controlled by several mechanisms, including Earth’s surface albedo and cloud coverage and the presence in the atmosphere of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). If geoengineering proposals are to influence global climate in any meaningful way, they must intentionally alter the relative influence of one of these controlling mechanisms.
Why is geoengineering controversial?
To some scientists, global-scale geoengineering proposals border on science fiction. Geoengineering is also controversial because it aims to modify global climate —a phenomenon that is not yet fully understood and cannot be altered without risk. In the popular press there have been reports that view geoengineering as the final option to thwart climate change if all other measures to reduce CO 2 emissions fail in the coming decades. Several studies advocate that rigorous testing should precede the implementation of any geoengineering proposal so that unintended consequences would be avoided. Each proposal described below would differ from the others in its potential efficiency, complexity, cost, safety considerations, and unknown effects on the planet, and all of them should be thoroughly evaluated before being implemented. Despite this, no proposed scheme has been purposefully tested, even as a small-scale pilot study, and hence the efficiency, cost, safety, or timescale of any scheme has never been evaluated.
How does cloud seeding work?
One of the best-known techniques is cloud seeding, a process that attempts to bring rain to parched farmland by dispersing particles of silver iodide or solid carbon dioxide into rain-bearing clouds. Cloud seeding has also been used in attempts to weaken tropical storms.
What are some ways to increase the reflectance of solar radiation?
Geoengineering schemes that could increase the reflectance of incoming solar radiation include raising ground-level albedo, injecting sulfur particles into the stratosphere, whitening marine clouds, and delivering millions of tiny orbital mirrors or sunshades into space.
What is geoengineering in science?
Geoengineering, also known as climate engineering or climate intervention, broadly refers to the intentional, large-scale manipulation of Earth's natural climate processes. Applications of geoengineering are usually described in relation to how they could help offset the impacts of climate change.
How Exactly Is Geoengineering Conducted?
When it comes to solar geoengineering, scientists suggest manipulating the radiation the Earth receives by adding mirrors to space, injecting materials into the Earth's atmosphere, or increasing the reflectivity of Earth's land. The primary methods proposed for carbon dioxide geoengineering include fertilizing the ocean with iron, increasing forest surfaces on Earth, and implementing radiation reflection techniques .
How does carbon dioxide help the climate?
Unlike solar geoengineering, carbon dioxide engineering would target the root of the climate change problem by reducing atmospheric greenhouse gases directly . In general, carbon dioxide geoengineering techniques leverage natural biological processes to pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and store it. Carbon geoengineering would enhance these ...
What is the legal interpretation of geoengineering?
Legal Interpretations of Geoengineering. The scale at which geoengineering would need to occur to meaningfully counteract climate change makes these ideas particularly challenging to implement. One of the main legal principles often invoked by those wary of geoengineering is the precautionary principle.
How does solar geoengineering affect climate?
While this solar radiation is not considered to be a cause of climate change, reducing the amount of solar radiation the Earth receives could lower global temperatures, one of the main effects of climate change. Certain predictive models indicate solar geoengineering could return global temperatures to pre-industrial levels. 2
How does iron get delivered to the surface?
Iron deliveries occur naturally, but relatively infrequently, through the upwelling of nutrients in the deep ocean to the surface, through wind carrying iron-rich dust, or by other more complicated means. 12 When an algal bloom inevitably runs out of nutrients once again, most of the carbon stored in dead algae cells sinks to the ocean floor where it can remain stored. By fertilizing iron-deficient portions of the ocean with iron sulfate, scientists can induce these massive algae blooms to convert atmospheric carbon into carbon stored in the deep ocean.
What is the science of Geoengineering?
Geoengineering, also known as climate engineering or climate intervention, broadly refers to the intentional, large-scale manipulation of Earth's natural climate processes.
Why is geoengineering used?
Geoengineering might be used as a way of temporarily keeping temperatures below a dangerous level ( I repeat might, since that hasn't been determined) while efforts to reduce climate change's effects are ramped up. But that too needs to be decided before geoengineering is used.
What are the two types of geoengineering?
There are two broad categories of geoengineering research, which are known as Solar Reduction Methods (SRM) and Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR). These two technologies are really different, and they're really only related in that they are ways people might intervene to reduce the effects of global warming.
Is geoengineering research done on computer?
But before I begin answering that, I want to be perfectly clear. The only research anyone has done on geoengineering has been using computer models or inside lab space.
Is the Earth heating up?
I t shouldn't come as a surprise that planet Earth is heating up. Though many of us would applaud the idea of getting out our shorts and tank tops a few days early, we'd quickly change our minds after examining the consequences of global warming. Scientists looking for ways to combat increasing temperatures are now exploring new innovative possibilities of cooling the planet through modern technology.
Does geoengineering affect weather?
I really don't know enough about weather control to be able to answer this question. Geoengineering is designed to affect the climate, not the weather, and weather is not my area of expertise.
What is geoengineering?
Geoengineering is a form of climate engineering or human climate intervention that seeks to alter long-term trends in Earth's climate . Many of today's geoengineering proposals focus on two key areas: reversing global warming and atmospheric carbon dioxide removal. Theoretically, however, large-scale geoengineering initiatives could seek ...
How does geoengineering affect Earth systems?
Geoengineering projects could alter Earth systems in unintended ways. Since the side effects of iron seeding or aerosol injections cannot be fully known unless put into practice, these initiatives present moral hazards to scientists. It may be ineffective. Geoengineering projects involve unproven technologies.
What are the disadvantages of geoengineering?
3 Disadvantages of Geoengineering 1 It introduces unknown climate risks. Geoengineering projects could alter Earth systems in unintended ways. Since the side effects of iron seeding or aerosol injections cannot be fully known unless put into practice, these initiatives present moral hazards to scientists. 2 It may be ineffective. Geoengineering projects involve unproven technologies. Until these geoengineering technologies are thoroughly proven to work without deleterious side effects, they must be regarded with skepticism. 3 It may be financially unfeasible. Some forms of geoengineering, such as reforestation, are comparatively affordable and easy to implement. Others require enormous government investment and public will.
How can geoengineering lower the average temperature?
Certain geoengineering methods, such as seeding the ocean with iron particles or pumping aerosol injections into the atmosphere , could lower average temperatures on the planet faster than could be achieved by changing human behaviors. It could create jobs.
What are some ways to capture carbon?
Some carbon capture methods are relatively simple, such as reforestation, afforestation (introducing trees to a region where they did not previously grow), and forest restoration to capture carbon in the form of biomass.
Is geoengineering financially unfeasible?
Until these geoengineering technologies are thoroughly proven to work without deleterious side effects, they must be regarded with skepticism. It may be financially unfeasible. Some forms of geoengineering, such as reforestation, are comparatively affordable and easy to implement.
Does geoengineering reverse human behavior?
When it comes to climate change, methods like emissions reduction and forest conservation serve as forms of mitigation, but they do not actively reverse damage done by human behavior. Proponents of geoengineering argue that the technology could offer a true reversal. Its results could be rapid.
What is geoengineering?
Geoengineering (literally "Earth-engineering") is the currently fashionable term for making large-scale interventions in how the planet works to slow down or reverse the effects of climate change. In theory, the word "geoengineering" could be used to describe almost any large-scale scheme for tackling climate change.
Why is geoengineering important?
It's known as geoengineering —and the basic idea is to make compensatory changes to Earth's climate to reverse the damage people have already done.
How do volcanic eruptions affect the Earth?
Eruptions reduce incoming solar radiation by firing sulfur dioxide gas into the atmosphere.
Is building wind farms a kind of geoengineering?
And building thousands of new wind farms (or even nuclear power plants) could also be described as geoengineering of a kind. Generally, though, it's clearer to define geoengineering in a more specific way.
What is solar geoengineering?
Solar geoengineering—also referred to as solar radiation management—describes a set of proposed approaches to reflect sunlight to rapidly cool the Earth.
Why is solar geoengineering important?
Because solar geoengineering has global implications, its consideration as a climate response requires effective international governance. Sound governance would need to be sustained for a very long time. Even uses intended to be “temporary,” such as deploying stratospheric aerosols to limit peak warming while we aggressively reduce emissions, would likely need to be sustained for a half-century or more.
How does solar geoengineering affect global politics?
We know very little about how solar geoengineering could impact global politics and efforts to curb global warming emissions. And because injecting aerosols into the stratosphere has regional and global implications, outdoor experimentation is a difficult subject to address.
Why does the Union of Concerned Scientists oppose solar geoengineering?
The Union of Concerned Scientists opposes the deployment of solar geoengineering because it poses unacceptably high environmental, social, and geopolitical risks. Instead, UCS supports continued modeling research, observational studies, and strong, inclusive public participation in decision-making over whether and how further research should ...
How does solar geoengineering help the Earth?
Solar geoengineering technologies cool the earth by reflecting sunlight back into space —but they pose many risks, challenges, and uncertainties. Scientists agree that we need to swiftly and dramatically cut emissions of heat-trapping gases. Also necessary: safely and sustainably removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, ...
How to understand the potential and risks of solar geoengineering?
To better understand the potential and risks of solar geoengineering, researchers should use computer modeling and monitor the climatic impacts of events such as volcanic eruptions.
Where does funding for solar geoengineering come from?
Funding for solar geoengineering experiments comes only from governments and other entities that support mitigation and adaptation as the first-line solutions to climate change, and
What is geoengineering?
Typically what people call geoengineering is divided into two major classes. There are approaches which attempt to reduce the amount of climate change produced by an increase in greenhouse gas concentrations and there are approaches that try to remove greenhouse gases that have already been released to the atmosphere.
Why did scientists gather in Asilomar?
That's why 175 scientists and other interested folks (including companies looking to profit from geoengineering) gathered in the Asilomar conference center near the end of March to try to repeat the success of molecular biologists who gathered there in 1975 to reassure a skeptical public about genetic engineering.
What is geoengineering in the media?
But while federal scientists are avoiding terms like “climate change” in their budget proposals, one word has been resurfacing in the media: geoengineering. In late March, several news articles suggested the White House may be interested in geoengineering—the large-scale, intentional hacking of the climate to press “pause” on the worst effects ...
How does the 2018 geoengineering experiment work?
The 2018 experiment would spray a small amount of material (water, initially) into the stratosphere. Then it will fly through the spray with instruments to measure how those particles interact with the atmosphere, so scientists can start to understand whether geoengineering is even feasible. Dkyema et al., 2014.
How can geoengineering bring down global fever?
The first is by capturing carbon, either by planting forests that absorb carbon for photosynthesis and then store it as food, or via human-made technologies that pull carbon out of the air and store it underground.
Can adding particulates to the sky cool the Earth?
Thanks to this and other eruptions, scientists are confident that adding particulates to the sky could cool the earth. It’s the other details that are up in the air. What reflective materials would be best? How much do we need to create a given effect, and how would we get that amount into the stratosphere? How will this affect other parts of the world?
Is geoengineering a controversial topic?
The idea of purposely manipulating the climate is a controversial topic, and some environmental scientists aren’t even fans of feasibility studies like this. But as other types of climate initiatives dry up, geoengineering appears to be gaining momentum.
What is solar geoengineering?
Besides building reflective sea clouds, solar geoengineering strategies focus on reflecting sunlight away from the planet via mirrors, ice, plants, and other such reflective surfaces. There are even plans to release reflective particles into the upper atmosphere to prevent further melting of the polar ice caps .
What are some geoengineering companies?
According to Greenbiz, there are only a few companies currently using geoengineering technologies for environmental repair. The first of those is Carbon Engineering, a company in which Bill Gates has already invested millions. The other is Global Thermostat . Neither of these companies is anywhere close to pulling CO2 from the air in any lucrative or meaningful way, but that hasn’t stopped them from attempting to do so.
What are geoengineered clouds?
Geoengineered clouds fall under two of the different geoengineering methods: SRM and ERM. According to The BBC, manipulating clouds might be the most effective means of removing and/or reflecting solar radiation. Marine stratocumulus clouds are the main focus here because they cover about 20 percent of the Earth’s surface and reflect more than 30 percent of all solar radiation.
How does ERM work?
Instead of trying to reflect heat away from the planet, ERM works by forcing excess planetary heat out into space. This is apparently accomplished by manipulating a certain type of cirrus cloud to become thinner, thereby allowing the heat to rise up and out of Earth’s atmosphere.
Can geoengineering slow hurricanes?
First, even with all of humanity’s combined scientific knowledge, we don’t really know how to scale geoengineering such that it can slow hurricanes or cool the ever-rising global temperature.
Types of Geoengineering
How Exactly Is Geoengineering conducted?
- When it comes to solar geoengineering, scientists suggest manipulating the radiation the Earth receives by adding mirrors to space, injecting materials into the Earth's atmosphere, or increasing the reflectivity of Earth's land. The primary methods proposed for carbon dioxide geoengineering include fertilizing the ocean with iron, increasing forest...
The Pros and Cons of Geoengineering
- Geoengineering is controversial due to the uncertainty of the effects of various geoengineering actions. While scientists rigorously study the potential effects of all potential geoengineering actions and often study geoengineering methods on small scales, there will always remain potential for unintended consequences. There are also legal and moral arguments for and again…