Hi Greg, what are the worst errors you can point to? On Nov 2, 12:56 pm, [email protected] wrote: > Impossible to count the number of errors in this piece of rotten > journalism. > > Gregory Benforcd > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Dan Whaley <[email protected]> > To: geoengineering <[email protected]> > Sent: Mon, Nov 2, 2009 6:10 am > Subject: [geo] E&E Daily-- On the hearings this week. > > CLIMATE: Science panel begins discussions of engineering fixes to > global warming (Monday, November 2, 2009) > Katie Howell, E&E reporter > > While much of Congress is focused on a regulatory plan to curb > greenhouse gas emissions, a House panel plans to probe more creative > and controversial measures to cool the planet. > > The House Science and Technology Committee meets this week to discuss > "geoengineering," a concept that would employ technological fixes to > stave off global warming. Ideas include injecting sulfur dioxide > particles high into the atmosphere to mimic the cooling effect of a > major volcanic eruption, seeding the ocean with iron to boost growth > of carbon dioxide-fixing algae and installing an array of deflecting > lenses between the Earth and sun to reduce solar heat striking the > planet. > > Mainstream scientists have generally shied away from the proposals, > saying they run the risk of further damaging the biosphere or could > cost much more than reduction of pollution from fossil fuels. But > interest in geoengineering has grown in recent years as concerns mount > that emissions reductions policies won't be able to stabilize the > planet's climate quickly enough to avoid dangerous global warming. > > Now, some scientists are saying the geoengineering options should be > researched as a backup solution in case stringent greenhouse gas cuts > fail. > > The House panel is the first to address the controversial but timely > subject and will hear from experts in the field about the proposed > options and the potential consequences. > > A committee aide said the hearing was not meant to endorse > geoengineering, but to serve as an in-depth conversation about the > full range of perspectives and potential consequences. > > The committee could also discuss with experts previous efforts to > control weather and climate. For instance, in the early 19th Century, > meteorologist James Espy proposed a scheme to regulate temperature and > rainfall by lighting massive wood fires along the Appalachian Mountain > ridge to create large clouds and regular rainfall, according to James > Fleming, a science, technology and society professor at Colby College. > > Other early forays into the field include a proposal to spread > reflective particles over the ocean, which was included in a 1965 > environmental report from President Lyndon Johnson's Science Advisory > Committee, and the Defense Department's attempt to alter the weather > in Vietnam for military purposes during the Vietnam War. > > "In facing unprecedented challenges, it is good to seek historical > precedents," Fleming, who will testify at Thursday's hearing, said > during a talk at a geoengineering conference in Cambridge, Mass., last > week. "History matters, and it matters that it goes into conversations > about public policy," he added to E&E. > > Fleming advocates for the consideration of the historical, ethical, > legal, moral and societal aspects of geoengineering -- and not as an > afterthought to scientific research. He is concerned how > geoengineering could alter humans' relationship with nature. For > instance, injecting sulfate into the atmosphere would create a milky > white -- rather than blue -- sky. And it would block out stars at > night so ground astronomy would be impossible. > > Reporter Lauren Morello contributed. > > Schedule: The hearing is Thursday, Nov. 5, at 10 a.m. in 2318 Rayburn. > > Witnesses: Ken Caldeira, senior scientist, Carnegie Institution of > Washington's Department of Global Ecology; John Shepherd, professor, > University of Southampton's National Oceanography Centre; Lee Lane, co- > director, American Enterprise Institute's geoengineering project; > James Fleming, professor and director, Colby College's Science, > Technology and Society department; and Alan Robock, environmental > sciences professor, Rutgers University.- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text -
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