Geoengineering could be a powerful force one day—things like reflecting sunlight before it reaches Earth, capturing carbon, or, in the most sci-fi of scenarios, controlling the weather. And because of that, some are wondering whether President Trump will back these endeavors.
"Will geoengineering plans get a boost from the Trump administration?" CleanTechnica asked. "Donald Trump may back dangerous "wall in the sky" plan to fight climate change, warns watchdog," the Independent wrote.
According to them, Trump, who has long been a stalwart climate change denier, may see geoengineering as a cheaper, easier way to fight global warming while keeping corporations happy.
Could Trump hack the planet to avoid having to save it? Will this be his capitalism-friendly fix for climate change? The possibilities are endless, speculative, and tantalizingly dystopian.
But the boring truth is, despite our best guesses, there"s no way of really knowing. At least for now.
Last month, a group of geoengineering scientists met in Washington, DC for a conference called the "Forum on US Solar Geoengineering Research." Harvard University physicist David Keith announced that he would be launching a suite of atmospheric experiments in the real world. These tests would involve misting the stratosphere with benign amounts of tiny particles like sulfur dioxide and alumina.
No comments:
Post a Comment