U.S. Meteorological Group Is Set to Endorse Geoengineering Research

The American Meteorological Society is preparing to endorse research into geoengineering schemes as part of a three-pronged approach to cope with global warming, according to New Scientist magazine. The group — the umbrella body for U.S. meteorological scientists — would be the first major scientific group to support research into geoengineering, which would attempt to slow or reverse global warming through a variety of engineering projects, ranging from releasing light-reflecting aerosols into the atmosphere to seeding the oceans with iron to promote blooms of CO2-absorbing algae. The other two approaches the group will endorse are emissions reduction, or mitigation, and adaptation to climate change. In a position paper to be released soon, the society will support research into “deliberately manipulating physical, chemical, or biological aspects of the Earth system,” according to New Scientist. Concluding that neither mitigation nor adaptation will fully blunt the impact of climate change, the group states that “it is prudent to consider geoengineering’s potential benefits, to understand its limitations, and to avoid ill-considered deployment.”