Geoengineering & Hubris: Altering Gargantuan Natural Flows of Energy

摘要

I am a subversive environmental radical. I believe in the First Law of Thermodynamics, and for that matter, Quantum Mechanics. To relax in the evening, I sometimes enjoy a little nip of Physical Chemistry. As carbon dioxide levels climb unabated, climate scientists and scientific organizations are increasingly researching, and sometimes even promoting geoengineering. Schemes proposed include reflecting incoming sunlight with small mirrors high in the atmosphere, building industrial facilities that capture carbon and sequester it deep underground, fertilizing the ocean and thereby sequestering energy in dead biomass at the bottom of the oceans, and seeding the atmosphere with sulfur aerosols or other particles to reflect incoming sunlight. Not so fast.