Character and Religion in Climate Engineering

摘要

A group of scientists at the University of Washington has proposed a field test of marine cloud brightening, during which saltwater would be sprayed into the air in an extremely fine mist. The goal is to determine whether it is possible to increase the reflectivity of nearby, low-level ocean clouds and thereby reduce global warming by reflecting more incoming solar energy. Such a test seems benign-after all, it uses only "natural" materials (saltwater, wind, clouds) to encourage a change in cloud reflectivity. Whether this test succeeds or not, it will offer data about how the climate system works, and so it will contribute to the effort of understanding, and perhaps reducing, the harms caused by the emissions of fossil fuel combustion and industrial agriculture. Yet even a small-scale field test of climate engineering raises complicated questions of morality and governance. The Spring 2017 Issues in Science and Technology discussed many such questions and their complexities.