Geoengineering: A possible solution to Climate Change

Although the use of fossil fuels are crucial to countless lives in different ways, they are wasteful and are destroying our world.  As a result, renewable energy has taken great leaps and is growing in popularity.  Unfortunately, it may not be enough.  More extreme options are being discussed, such as geoengineering.  Geoengineering is the process of fixing our environmental issues with modern technology, like carbon dioxide removal to lower greenhouse gasses or solar radiation management to reduce the temperature of the Earth.  Despite seeming like an easy option, geoengineering has its own drawbacks.  Humanity has already disrupted the natural flow of Earth, so meddling even more could have serious negative effects on nature.  Rachel Kaufman’s article on the Smithsonian Magazine “The Risks, Rewards, and Possible Ramifications of Geoengineering Earth’s Climate” published March 11, 2019 analyzes the potential advantages and drawbacks of geoengineering tactics in a modern Harvard project. 

One of these strategies discussed is the process of reflecting sunlight.  Global warming is the major result of the combination of the greenhouse gasses and the sun.  In addition to lowering the greenhouse gasses, scientists believe that lowering the amount of sun-rays combining with the gasses could also have a positive effect on the environment.  Kaufman says in her article that by using aerosols “particles would reflect sunlight away from the Earth, effectively dimming the sun and, in theory, cooling the planet.” This idea includes the reflection of sunlight in the atmosphere, by means of making brighter clouds, more reflective sea spray aerosol particles, or even as an extreme a mirror in space to reflect the excess heat from the Earth.  This could help reduce the temperature of the Earth significantly, rather than continuing to lower greenhouse gas emissions.  Kaufman states in her article that “Even if we somehow stopped emitting carbon dioxide completely tomorrow, many scientists say it wouldn’t be enough.”  So theoretically, the reflection of sun rays could provide the solution to stopping global warming.

Geoengineering does have its negatives, along with its benefits.  By reducing the amount of heat being absorbed by the Earth from the Sun, global warming could be reduced, giving humans extra crucial years to fully convert the world to clean energy.  But, this kind of science is not cheap.  Investing money into a project like this would take intense funding, and would take away from carbon reduction projects.  In addition to that, altering the Earth even more could have significant negative effects on wildlife, like causing mass extinction or destroying delicate ecosystems.  Ultimately, the decision of if the positives outweigh the benefits must be made.  Jeremy Bentham, a renowned philosopher, developed the theory of consequentialism in 1748.  That theory states that an action should be based off of the product of the action, rather than the action itself.  So in the end, if the use of these geoengineering processes produce a positive result for humans despite its drawbacks for nature, should we call it a success?  The answer to that question is for the future.  Lizzie Burns, the manager of the project at Harvard, says in Kaufman’s article that the project should be taken slow so it “doesn’t get too far ahead of itself” as it needs more time.

Geoengineering can help the world as long as it is given the appropriate amount of time to be developed and carefully implemented.  Over the years mankind has significantly reduced the amount of unclean energy used globally, and the overall greenhouse gas emissions.  By also reducing the amount of sun rays heating the Earth, the temperature of the world might become even more stable.  Although some might argue that it is unwise to alter the world in such a fashion, would you rather risk having no world at all? Think about it.