Geoengineering Is Becoming A Respectable Idea

Picture standing outdoors on a sweltering day, beads of sweat dripping down your back, and you wish you could turn down the sun as you do with the thermostat in your house. This isn't quite as far-fetched as it seems, based on a radical concept known as solar geoengineering. This genius idea works on the principle of reflecting part of the sun's energy into space to cool down our planet and finally give Earth a break from the intense heat brought about by climate change. Think of it like this: one big, reflective sunhat-but for the whole Earth. Methods currently being explored are SAI, or the injection of tiny, reflective particles into the stratosphere, and MCB—spraying sea salt particles into clouds to render them more reflective. There is even talk of placing mirrors in space—a sci-fi solution if there ever was one.

Advantages, no doubt, thus seem inviting. That we might, in decades, possibly sooner, cool the Earth, slow the melting of the polar ice caps, and tame hurricanes would represent the calming of a catastrophic problem that has been feeding on itself for decades by merely applying some magical balm. For those of us who have lived anxiously with the disappearance of glaciers and the rising tides, the prospect of solar geoengineering seems like a respite. But it could, in fact, cool Earth by injecting aerosols into the atmosphere, mess with the weather patterns, making certain areas experience droughts while others experience floods. I remember trying to set up a tarp on a camping trip when a rainstorm suddenly doused us. We could keep ourselves dry, but we channeled all the water into our tent. Sometimes, solving one problem spawns a whole host of new ones.

There's the moral maze of global governance: who decides whether and when we deploy such technologies? It's a question that invites thoughts of playground skirmishes over who gets the ball. In the case of solar geoengineering, the stakes are infinitely higher. It would require unprecedented international cooperation on a course of action unless history has demonstrated that this is easier said than done. There's also the moral hazard: if there were a potential technological solution, wouldn't that reduce our incentives to decrease greenhouse gas emissions? It's like discovering some loophole in your diet where you can have cake daily and not gain a pound. Theoretically, you'd be less likely to behave better when eating right. The romance of the quick fix shouldn't distract us from our stronger motivation toward sustainable energy and lower carbon output.

Solar geoengineering speaks to humanity's ingenuity and our ceaseless desire to solve the most intractable problems beset humankind. It is also, not incidentally, a reminder that with great power comes great responsibility. As we continue to navigate this fascinating, contentious field, it is essential to bear in mind the tension between innovation and caution, optimism and realism. Ultimately, solar geoengineering is a profoundly human problem-one that is as much about values and politics as science.