Science Magazine on the Latest in Geoengineering

In the preeminent international weekly Science Magazine, journalist Eli Kintisch renewed the geoengineering debate: whether geoengineered techniques should be used to artificially lower global temperatures, climate change’s Plan B. Hypothetically, geoengineering  can offset anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions but with it comes a high risk of unintended environmental consequences.  Ultimately, the geoengineering conundrum hinges on the uncertain environmental effects of what the article calls “planet-hacking techniques.” One such conundrum is examined by physicist David Keith of the University of Calgary in Canada, spraying sulfuric acid droplets into the atmosphere would reduce solar radiation but also uncontrollably affect present rain and precipitation patterns. Such unpredictable, ungovernable effects further complicate the debate, as unilateral action by nations can affect global atmospheric conditions. Read the article here.