I think this comment is (a) factually incorrect and (b) unhelpful. Holdren has know about this and paid attention for some time, certainly since before we held the 2007 Harvard meeting. I talked with him in the fall on this topic. I don't think it's fair to say that he was "backed into a corner". Further, I can think of several senior folks in DC who take geoengineering seriously. (Heck, I am there twice in the next few weeks on the topic...) I think over-statements like this do more harm than good.
-David ________________________________ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of David Schnare Sent: April 8, 2009 8:37 PM To: [email protected] Cc: [email protected]; geoengineering Subject: [geo] Re: John Holdren puts geoengineering on the table Holdren, unlike folks in the environmental advocacy community, can be backed into a corner. Holdren is not stupid and he is not an advocate, so he has to answer the question asked, rather than spin any response into the "on message" screed. Thus, he said the least that he could get away with. Holdren actually understands the moral dilemma of rejecting AGW or admitting it is too late to "fix" the problem through carbon emissions reductions policies alone. I don't find any more support from Holdren than we have seen from Hawkins. I repeat what I have written to this group before. You have no friends in Washington, D.C. (i.e., the government). David Schnare On Wed, Apr 8, 2009 at 1:10 PM, Alvia Gaskill <[email protected]> wrote: Not much different than what he said in the Hot Planet documentary. Joe Romm misrepresented Holdren's views on this in an article he write late last year by selectively truncating a quote Holdren made about the use of geoengineering. What he actually said was the same as in these articles. We can't take any option off the table. The problems with air capture extend beyond just cost also. It continues to amaze me how journalists still don't grasp the concept of aerosol precursors. I guess it's like teaching a dog to make a phone call. It can be done with great difficulty, but you still can't have an intelligent conversation. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/08/obama-global-warming-plan_n_184 657.html Obama Global Warming Plan Involves Cooling Air digg Huffpost - Obama Global Warming Plan Involves Cooling Air stumble reddit del.ico.us <http://del.ico.us/> ShareThisSETH BORENSTEIN | April 8, 2009 11:55 AM EST | WASHINGTON - The president's new science adviser said Wednesday that global warming is so dire, the Obama administration is discussing radical technologies to cool Earth's air. John Holdren told The Associated Press in his first interview since being confirmed last month that the idea of geoengineering the climate is being discussed. One such extreme option includes shooting pollution particles into the upper atmosphere to reflect the sun's rays. Holdren said such an experimental measure would only be used as a last resort. "It's got to be looked at," he said. "We don't have the luxury of taking any approach off the table." Holdren outlined several "tipping points" involving global warming that could be fast approaching. Once such milestones are reached, such as complete loss of summer sea ice in the Arctic, it increases chances of "really intolerable consequences," he said. Twice in a half-hour interview, Holdren compared global warming to being "in a car with bad brakes driving toward a cliff in the fog." At first, Holdren characterized the potential need to technologically tinker with the climate as just his personal view. However, he went on to say he has raised it in administration discussions. Holdren, a 65-year-old physicist, is far from alone in taking geoengineering more seriously. The National Academy of Science is making climate tinkering the subject of its first workshop in its new multidiscipline climate challenges program. The British parliament has also discussed the idea. The American Meteorological Society is crafting a policy statement on geoengineering that says "it is prudent to consider geoengineering's potential, to understand its limits and to avoid rash deployment." Last week, Princeton scientist Robert Socolow told the National Academy that geoengineering should be an available option in case climate worsens dramatically. But Holdren noted that shooting particles into the air _ making an artificial volcano as one Nobel laureate has suggested _ could have grave side effects and would not completely solve all the problems from soaring greenhouse gas emissions. So such actions could not be taken lightly, he said. Still, "we might get desperate enough to want to use it," he added. Another geoengineering option he mentioned was the use of so-called artificial trees to suck carbon dioxide _ the chief human-caused greenhouse gas _ out of the air and store it. At first that seemed prohibitively expensive, but a re-examination of the approach shows it might be less costly, he said. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kelly Wanser" <[email protected]> To: "geoengineering" <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, April 08, 2009 11:52 AM Subject: [geo] John Holdren puts geoengineering on the table > > http://www.startribune.com/nation/42671837.html > > Obama science adviser: Global warming so dire, we may need to tinker > with Earth's atmosphere > > Associated Press > > WASHINGTON - The president's new science adviser said that global > warming is so dire, the Obama administration is discussing drastic > options to cool Earth's air. > > John Holdren told The Associated Press in his first interview since > being confirmed last month that the idea of geoengineering the climate > is being discussed. One such extreme option includes shooting > pollution particles into the upper atmosphere to reflect the sun's > rays. Holdren said such an experimental measure would only be used as > a last resort. > > As he put it: "It's got to be looked at. We don't have the luxury of > taking any approach off the table." > > --------- > Kelly Wanser > > > > <br --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
