We hear a lot of talk about geoengineering as a way around the problems caused by excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The argument usually centers around the technical feasibility of such efforts, but I'm here to tell you there is a human element to this as well.
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The recently published book “SuperFreakonomics,†written by Steven D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner, has caused a furor in the climate change community. Among other things, the authors assert that carbon emissions are not the problem and even if they are, the problem can be dealt with through geoengineering. Problem solved, time to move on.
We hear a lot of talk about geoengineering as a way around the problems caused by excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The argument usually centers around the technical feasibility of such efforts, but I'm here to tell you there is a human element to this as well.
I live in a small city located about mid-way between Washington DC and West Virginia. The county likes to think it is still rural, but truth be told, suburbanization has taken its toll.
Still, things weren't always like that. When we first moved here, the local newspaper still had a distinctly rural outlook. Letters to the editor were as often about cows as cars.
One topic that came up from time to time was cloud seeding. Some irritated famer could always be counted on to write a letter voicing suspicions about low flying aircraft seeding the clouds. The idea was that rain would precipitate and fall somewhere besides where it should have fallen, namely on that guy's farm.
Farmers in my county viewed cloud seeding - which is really just a form of geo-engineering the atmosphere - with deep suspicion. Their fear was that someone else's gain was their loss. And who is to say they weren't right.
One other thing. Politicians listen to farmers. Rural voters still matter a great deal. If you don't think so just look at the jockeying for support from farm-state representatives as the U. S. Congress works on cap and trade legislation.
All I'm saying is that we shouldn't assume that a technological solution to a difficult problem will be seen as an unalloyed blessing. Farmers are among the most stubborn and opinionated people on the globe. That's as true in Bangladesh as it is in Iowa.
This essay first appeared in PlanetRestart.org
Authors Website: http://www.PlanetRestart.org/
Authors Bio:One day while digesting the latest piece of bad news about the economy, I thought about my grandchildren and wondered what they would be worrying about when they were adults. I decided that economic downturns come and go, but CLIMATE CHANGE is here to stay.
So, what now? How will climate change affect the way our children and grandchildren live and work? What do we know today that we can use to prepare them for the coming changes? I don't have the answers, but maybe together we can come up with ways to restart our thinking about living on a planet that may be quite different from what we see around us today.