Hi All
Jon Carlson has picked an unfortunate example about Indian monsoons. If
you cool the seas around India you increase the temperature difference
between sea and land. This will increase the monsoon. There is lots
about the effects of cloud albedo control in various places in the PhD
by Ben Parkes.
Stephen
On 03/01/2013 00:20, Andrew Lockley wrote:
http://www.science20.com/news_articles/geoengineering_global_warming_needs_international_laws_teeth-100073
Geo-Engineering For Global Warming Needs International Laws With Teeth
Though you can't put science data to a vote, the policies based on
science are for the public to decide.Until a global policy is in
place, scientists and organizations can easily circumvent
international laws regarding geo-engineering by getting domestic
approval, as we saw with LOHAFEX andenvironmental activist Russ
George dumping iron in the ocean to create algal blooms, in defiance
of treaties prohibiting it.More geo-engineering, manual manipulation
of the environment, to slow global warming's impact is going to happen
unless a global governance structure with some teeth is put into
place, says University of Iowa law professor Jon
Carlson."Geo-engineering is a global concern that will have climate
and weather impacts in all countries, and it is virtually inevitable
that some group of people will be harmed in the process," Carlson said
in a statement. "The international community must act now to take
charge of this activity to ensure that it is studied and deployed with
full attention to the rights and interests of everyone on the
planet."Geo-engineering is not new, mankind has done it forever and by
the 19th century scientists even proposed seeding clouds to increase
rainfall. There is a long list of geo-engineering ideas that could be
used to slow the impact of global warming while other methods are
developed to actually mitigate the damage - everything from planting
new forests to absorb carbon dioxide or painting roofs white to reduce
solar heat absorption and even making really big sunglasses for the
planet.Some are complex and controversial, like manually cooling
oceans so carbon dioxide-laden water sinks to the bottom more quickly
or injecting chemicals like hydrogen sulfide or sulfur dioxide into
the upper atmosphere, creating an aerosol shield that reduces the
amount of solar heat reaching the earth's surface.The international
legal implications are obvious - if Germany wants to approve LOHAFEX
outside international agreements, it can, but the potential damage can
be felt in other countries. While everyone agrees we should do
something, doing something bad right away invokes the law of
unintended consequences - nobody knows what will happen when actually
put into practice. For instance. Carlson uses as an example that while
manually cooling the ocean may be seen as a generally good idea, what
impact will that have on farmers in India whose crops depend on rain
from heat-induced tropical monsoons?So it's no surprise lawyers
advocate the creation of a new international governing body separate
from existing organizations that would be tasked just with approving
or rejecting geo-engineering plans. Geo-engineering activities should
require they be publicly announced in the planning stage, and all
countries are notified so they have a voice in deliberations.As a
model, Carlson suggests the International Monetary Fund (IMF). His
proposed organization would give all countries a place during
discussions, but reserve decisions to a small group of directors, each
of which has a weighted vote that's based on their country's
greenhouse gas production. That is, countries that produce more
greenhouse gases will spend more money to combat global climate
change, and so will have more votes.Carlson's proposed body would
oversee a compensation fund to help people and countries that are
harmed by other country's approved geo-engineering activities, or by
unseen effects of those activities.How do you collect that money? How
do you enforce those laws? That's a policy issue for the future.
Published in Transnational Law and Contemporary Problems.
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