e360 digest

04 Oct 2011: Panel in U.S. Urges Research
Into Climate Geoengineering Options

A bipartisan panel of scientists, former government officials, and energy experts is urging the U.S. government to explore the potential benefits, costs, and risks of geoengineering schemes to slow global

A Look at the Perils and
Potential of Geoengineering

A Hard Look at the Perils and Potential of Geoengineering

Last year’s Asilomar conference was touted as a potentially historic event. What emerged, however, were some unexpected lessons about the possibilities and pitfalls of geoengineering, Jeff Goodell reported.
READ THE e360 REPORT

warming. In a new report, the 18-member panel convened by the Washington, D.C.-based Bipartisan Policy Center concedes that the use of technology to slow or reverse global warming — such as scattering light-reflecting aerosols into the atmosphere or seeding the oceans with iron to trigger CO2-absorbing algae blooms — is “no substitute” for cutting carbon dioxide emissions. But with the failure of the U.S. and the international community to take meaningful measures to reduce CO2 emissions, the panel recommends that the U.S. government should begin researching and testing alternatives in case the Earth’s climate system reaches a “tipping point” and immediate remedial action is required. “The federal government is the only entity that has the incentive, responsibility, and capacity to run a broad, systematic, and effective program,” the report says. “It can also play an important role in effectively establishing international research norms.”

Recommend

Stumble Upon

Digg

Taking Green Chemistry Out Of The Lab and into Products

Insurance Companies Face Increased Risks from Warming

Besieged by Climate Deniers, A Scientist Decides to Fight Back

U.S. Fossil Fuel Boom Dims Glow of Clean Energy

Can Reforming the Farm Bill Help Change U.S. Agriculture?

Yale Environment 360 is
a publication of the
Yale School of Forestry
& Environmental Studies.

Twitter: YaleE360
e360 on Facebook
Donate to e360
View mobile site
Bookmark
Share e360
Email newsletter
Subscribe to our feed:

About e360
Contact
Submission Guidelines
Reprints

The Warriors of Qiugang, a Yale Environment 360 video that chronicles the story of a Chinese village’s fight against a polluting chemical plant, was nominated for a 2011 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). Watch the video.

Opinion
Reports
Analysis
Interviews
e360 Digest
Video Reports

Biodiversity
Business & Innovation
Climate
Energy
Forests
Oceans
Policy & Politics
Pollution & Health
Science & Technology
Sustainability
Urbanization
Water

Antarctica and the Arctic
Africa
Asia
Australia
Central & South America
Europe
Middle East
North America

As temperatures rise and water supplies dry up, tribes in East Africa increasingly are coming into conflict. A Yale Environment 360 video reports on a phenomenon that could become more common: how worsening drought will pit groups — and nations — against one another. Watch the video.

The latest
from Yale
Environment 360 is now available for mobile devices at e360.yale.edu/mobile.

Top Image: aerial view of Iceland. © Google & TerraMetrics.

Leveling Appalachia: The Legacy of Mountaintop Removal Mining, an e360 video examining the environmental and human impacts of this mining practice, won the award for best video in the 2010 National Magazine Awards for Digital Media. Watch the video.

Centre for Science and Environment

Environmental Health News

Environmental News Network