News Currents: Geoengineering

(Inside Science) -- Geoengineering is a giant thought experiment, so far. The term refers to methods that might be used to purposely affect the climate and correct for the warming effects of greenhouse gases. The idea has a considerable number of cheerleaders and critics. Even if a technique provided the desired amount of cooling, the potential for significant unintended effects would still be great. And performing any controlled, contained testing of any of the methods might prove to be very difficult.

This is part of why people are nervous about the idea of deflecting sunlight away from the Earth’s surface by releasing gases or other molecules into the atmosphere. Or storing carbon dioxide underground or stirring it into the ocean. Or additional ideas, some of which edge toward the so-crazy-it-just-might-work part of the spectrum.

This in-depth article from The New Yorker includes comments from a number of good sources, and concludes with a fairly interesting perspective that I won’t spoil here.

Here’s another idea, from a chemical engineering magazine called tcetoday -- it’s not quite like using a bucket of paint to cover up the problem of global warming, but it’s close.