Nine Strategies of Geo-engineering

Recently some scientists in Britain have recommend planetary ‘geoengineering‘ to avoid climate change. And as politicians are listening, it is time to explore the options. New Scientist published this rather lovely diagram of the effectiveness and viability of nine different geoengineering schemes, from space mirrors to planting reflective crops.

Although geoengineering might be a viable escape from an overheated planet, before we dive in the game of deliberately manipulating the Earth’s climate to counteract the effects of global warming, let us realize that maakbaarheid is never finished: Every cultivation of nature typically causes the rising of a next nature that is wild and unpredictable as ever. Just like the inventor of the fridge did not anticipate a hole in the ozon layer, we should be bracing ourselves for some serious side effects of geoengineering.

Perhaps rather than desperately attempting to stop all changes in the climate, we should as a culture gain more of a flexibility towards a constantly mutating environment. After all, change happens.