HI everyone. I wrote a brief report on genetic engineering and biotech means of reducing methane and CO2 levels in the atmosphere. especially in the arctic permafrost. If you are willing to sign a nondisclosure agreement I will send you copies. I want scientists to review it and tell me what prospects of it working are. It covers the fields of soil microbiology, ecology and oceanographic ecology. Contact Neil Farbstein at [email protected]
On Dec 18, 10:28 am, Dan Whaley <[email protected]> wrote: > http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=owning-the-climate... > > Dec 17, 2009 08:00 AM in Energy & Sustainability | 2 comments > Owning the climate: Will geoengineering help combat climate change? > > By David Biello > > e-mail print comment > > Mt. Pinatubo volcano above paddy fields in the philippines > COPENHAGEN—The controversy at this climate summit revolves around two > simple issues: Who cuts? Who pays? Of course, climate change does not > distinguish between a ton of carbon dioxide emitted from cutting down > a peat forest in Indonesia versus a ton emitted as a result of burning > coal in Germany. Therefore, a relatively new term is beginning to stir > some controversy here in the Danish capital outside the direct > negotations: geoengineering. > > That's in part because the "Conference of Parties" negotiations have > taken so long. After 17 years, the basic issues remain to be > addressed, and overall emissions have grown since 2000—the year > enshrined in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change > treaty as the peak year of greenhouse gas emissions for the developed > world (the U.S. signed this agreement). With little hope of reducing > emissions in the near term—some scientists, such as geochemist Wally > Broecker of Columbia University think we'll be lucky to stop at > concentrations of 550 parts per million in the atmosphere—more radical > solutions are on offer: artificial, eternal volcanoes; using saltwater > mist to increase cloud cover; even flotillas of mirrors in space. > > "Geoengineering is plan B," says oceanographer John Shepherd of the > U.K's Royal Society of plans to deliberately tinker with the planet's > climate. "It's not to be adopted unless absolutely necessary." > > After all, "geoengineering is technically possible," Shepherd adds. > But "in most cases, it's still on the backs of envelopes and there are > very many things to be concerned about, like environmental impacts." > > It's not just environmental impacts from filling the skies with sulfur > dioxide to mimic the cooling impact of a massive volcanic eruption, > like Mount Pinatubo in 1991, among other plans on offer. "This will > have vast human rights implications, on self-determination, on the > right to food," says Diana Bronson, program manager at the ETC Group. > "We're talking about technologies that would modify the entire > planet." > > And though building a sulfur dioxide smokestack to the stratosphere is > an expensive proposition, there are simpler and cheaper ways to > accomplish these ends, including dumping such particles from a > helicopter. "It would take 10 Howitzers firing a shell a minute a year > to get sulfates into the atmosphere," says Jason Blackstock, an > analyst at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. > "Fifty to eighty countries in the world are capable of this." > > Already, Russian scientist Yuri Izrael has begun to experiment and the > Chinese routinely seed clouds to produce rain or snow. The Indians and > Germans have conducted scientific testing of dumping iron in the ocean > to attempt to promote algae growth and thus carbon sequestration. > > "We aren't going back to the climate we had before," says Jane Long, > associate director for energy and environment at Lawrence Livermore > National Laboratory. "We are going to be managing the environment, not > just the climate but also hydrology, soils. We have to learn how to do > that." > > Of course, there are geoengineering options that are not as dangerous, > such as mechanical devices to suck CO2 out of the air. Physicist Klaus > Lackner of Columbia University and others are working on such devices > and believe they could be accomplished for $300 per metric ton of CO2 > removed. And others advocate restoring organic carbon to the soil in > the form of so-called biochar (charcoal), which could sequester as > much as 900 megatonnes of carbon over the next several decades. > > But still questions of governance remain. For example, who will > determine the appropriate level for CO2 concentrations in the > atmosphere? Freezing Russians or sweltering island states? Who will > control the global thermostat? > > "Reducing emissions should remain the top priority for the foreseeable > future," Shepherd says, "but serious research is needed rather than > enthusiasts working in their spare time." Perhaps control of the > world's climate shouldn't be trusted to basement tinkerers or > scientists. > Read More About: geoengineering -- 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.
