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Harvard Scientists Say It's Time To Start Thinking About Engineering the Climate

Posted by Soulskill on from the just-ask-kim-stanley-robinson-what-to-do dept.

merbs writes: Harvard has long been home to one of the fiercest advocates for climate engineering. This week, Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences published a research announcement headlined "Adjusting Earth's Thermostat, With Caution." That might read as oxymoronic — intentionally altering the planet's climate has rarely been considered a cautious enterprise — but it fairly accurately reflects the thrust of several new studies published by the Royal Society, all focused on exploring the controversial field of geoengineering.

5 of 367 comments (clear)

  1. How about we beta test on Venus? by Zorlon · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Then if it works we'll have a bonus planet to live it. Win Win :)

    --
    - Things are the way they are because they're coded that way -
  2. Optimum Temperature by crmanriq · · Score: 4, Funny

    Sure. Let's engineer it. Just tell me what the optimum global mean temperature is, and I'll get right on it.

    (It's no more difficult than any of the other projects that I've been assigned. "Invent a machine that can do X. At a lower cost than a worker in China."

    --
    If it's worth doing, it's worth doing for money.
  3. How about engineering the economy? by bigsexyjoe · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think the idea that we are going to engineer the environment is crazy and dangerous. The fact is we don't HAVE to keep dumping CO2 into the air. We can dramatically shift our priorities and resources to finding alternative energy.

    Granted, the economic incentives for clean energy aren't there right now, but is capitalism a suicide pact?

    --
    Democracy Now! - your daily, uncensored, corporate-free
  4. Fortune cookie by lurker412 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It seemed remarkably appropriate that this was the cookie at the bottom of the thread:

    "The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts."

    -- Bertrand Russell

  5. Re:Global warming is bunk anyway. by dnavid · · Score: 5, Interesting

    We shouldn't be fooling around like this. It's obvious we don't understand, or are too corrupt and greedy to admit, that there's no problem.

    Its ironic that one of the potential benefits of geoengineering research is that it will force many climate change deniers to admit that its possible for human activity to have major deleterious effects on Earth's climate.