Geoengineering On NPR’s “Science Friday” (NAT. PROP. RADIO)

Publisher’s Note: As the clandestine military geoengineering of our skies and oceans continues into 2020, various “conceptual geoengineering” projects are being moved into the mainstream public discourse as “solutions” to “climate change.” Listen closely to NPR “Science Friday” host Ira Flato’s interview with UCLA author Holly Buck this week, who has coined a new term – “climate restoration” – to euphemistically describe geoengineering projects (not yet happening, mind you!) as “solutions” to the “climate change emergency.” Here’s the description of the show below. The photograph of geoengineering over southern California is courtesy of “Our Geoengineering Age” nuclear chemist J. Marvin Herndon. Look for our new OGA web site coming soon. Save Our Skies, and Free Vermont!

In the context of climate change, geoengineering refers to deliberate, large-scale manipulations of the planet to slow the effects of human-induced global warming—whether by removing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it safely, or altering the atmosphere to reflect the amount of incoming sunlight that is absorbed as heat.

But neither strategy is uncomplicated to deploy. Carbon capture is expensive and is often used to enhance fossil fuel extraction, not to actually reduce emissions. Meanwhile, altering our atmosphere would require maintenance indefinitely until we actually reduce emissions—that, or risk a whiplash of warming that plants could not adapt to. 

UCLA researcher Holly Buck is the author of a new book that examines these complexities. She explains to Ira why geoengineering could still be a valid strategy for buying time while we reduce emissions, and why any serious deployment of geoengineering technology would require a re-imagining of society as well.