Interview: The Unthinkable Option Of Engineering the Earth’s Climate

A blue-ribbon U.S. panel recently called for a concerted effort to study proposals to manipulate the climate to slow global warming — a heretical notion among some climate activists. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, Jane C.S. Long, the task force’s chairwoman, talks about the report and explains why scientists and the public need to know more about the perils and possibilities of geoengineering. Although some climate activists criticized the task force report, Long and her colleagues say it is best to move aggressively not only to reduce CO2 emissions, but to learn as much as possible about geoengineering options should they one day be needed. “Everyone I know who works on this is scared to death of this stuff,” Long said. “People aren’t doing this because they think, ‘Oh whoopee! We can change the Earth!’ They’re doing it because they just don’t see any progress [on CO2 emissions] and they want options on the table.”

Read the interview