This Changes Everything

“The Solution to Pollution Is...Pollution?” (Pages 256-261)

Klein tells of her experience at a 2011 Royal Academy convention on geo-engineering in Britain. The Royal Academy is one of the world’s most prestigious scientific communities, and they have become increasingly interested in geo-engineering options for reducing global temperatures caused by global warming.

This is described as a “plan B,” based on humanity’s inability to meaningfully cut carbon emissions. Geo-engineering means planetary scale engineering interventions to block a portion of the sun’s rays, and so cool the planet.

This doesn’t literally mean “a parasol for the planet” (257); the main options that come under geo-engineering are things like fertilizing the ocean with iron, covering deserts with a vast white sheet to reflect the sun, and the kinds of large-scale carbon absorbing machines Branson had in mind.

The set of options that are getting most attention in the scientific community is Solar Radiation Management. This broadly means controlling the amount of the sun’s rays that make it through to the Earth’s surface. One far-flung idea would be putting up mirrors in space, but this has no scientific credibility. One of the most seriously considered options is “the Pinatubo option.” This entails spraying sulphate dioxide into the stratosphere to reflect sunlight back into space, and thus cooling the earth.