Words are tools. Before designing a tool, it is a good idea to understand what the tool will be used for.
Rather than defining terms in a vacuum, it may be a good idea to think about the contexts in which these words will be used and then provide a definition (or definitions) that make these words most useful in these contexts. --- Biomass energy is generally considered mitigation. Carbon capture and storage is generally considered mitigation So, for the time period in which we are still emitting copious amounts of fossil CO2 into the atmosphere, biomass energy + CCS is perhaps best viewed in the context of climate change mitigation. I do not see how labeling biomass energy with CCS (BECCS) "geoengineering" is helpful in this context. If we are concerned about novel risks, and want to govern things called "geoengineering" because they pose novel risks, then it might be a good idea to define "geoengineering" in terms of novel risk. _______________ Ken Caldeira Carnegie Institution for Science Dept of Global Ecology 260 Panama Street, Stanford, CA 94305 USA +1 650 704 7212 [email protected] http://dge.stanford.edu/labs/caldeiralab https://twitter.com/KenCaldeira On Sun, Feb 16, 2014 at 8:34 PM, Rau, Greg <[email protected]> wrote: > I would go further and say "climate geoengineering is distinguished by, > and can be defined through, its capacity to decouple climate outcomes from > atmospheric carbon dioxide (or other GHG) levels." Thus, the very different > (and in my opinion usually lower) risks from atmospheric CO2/GHG management > R&D and deployment are separated from those of SRM. > Greg > ------------------------------ > *From:* [email protected] [[email protected]] > on behalf of O Morton [[email protected]] > *Sent:* Sunday, February 16, 2014 4:20 AM > *To:* [email protected] > *Cc:* [email protected] > > *Subject:* Re: [geo] Re: What Is Climate Geoengineering? Word Games in > the Ongoing Debates Over a Definition > > I'm not sure that you want to include intention in the definition, > though it is hard to exclude. And I think srm, for example, could, though, > unwisely, be used without abatement options being pursued; I don't think > its reasonable to include normative assumptions about how geoengineering > should be pursued in the definition. > > For me, climate geoengineering is distinguished by, and can be defined > through, its capacity to decouple climate outcomes from cumulative carbon > dioxide emissions. > > > On Sunday, 16 February 2014 07:46:40 UTC, Emily L-B wrote: >> >> Hi is it only fossil-fuel use it's aiming to deal with, rather than >> including the effects of land use change, deforestation, burping cows, etc? >> I wonder if geo-engineering aims to >> >> 'reduce climate change (or global warming specifically) alongside efforts >> to reduce ghg emissions.' >> >> This can include srm and cdr. >> >> This captures other ghg emissions sources, so for example, human release >> direct to air, but we are also weakening natural carbon draw down pumps in >> the ocean and may be causing carbon stores to release, from, for example, >> the oceans, forests and methane hydrates. >> >> This also captures the suggestion that geo-eng is expressly intended to >> be used as well as emissione reductions and not instead and not wait till >> emissions reductions is declared inadequate because some people are >> differently optimistic about that and may disagree/ be too late. >> >> Best wishes, >> Emily. >> Sent from my BlackBerry(R) smartphone on O2 >> ------------------------------ >> *From: *Greg Rau <[email protected] <http://UrlBlockedError.aspx>> >> *Sender: *[email protected] <http://UrlBlockedError.aspx> >> *Date: *Sat, 15 Feb 2014 15:03:20 -0800 (PST) >> *To: *[email protected] <http://UrlBlockedError.aspx><osc >> [email protected] <http://UrlBlockedError.aspx>>; >> [email protected] <http://UrlBlockedError.aspx><geoengi...@ >> googlegroups.com <http://UrlBlockedError.aspx>> >> *ReplyTo: *[email protected] <http://UrlBlockedError.aspx> >> *Subject: *Re: [geo] Re: What Is Climate Geoengineering? Word Games in >> the Ongoing Debates Over a Definition >> >> How about: >> "geoengineering schemes seek to mitigate the effect of fossil-fuel >> combustion on the climate in the event that fossil fuel emissions >> reductions prove inadequate to avoid dangerous climate change." >> >> Due to very different risks and benefits, my preference would be to >> have geoengineering be synonymous with SRM, and to treat CDR separately. >> >> Greg >> >> ------------------------------ >> *From:* Oscar Escobar <[email protected]<http://UrlBlockedError.aspx> >> > >> *To:* [email protected] <http://UrlBlockedError.aspx> >> *Sent:* Saturday, February 15, 2014 12:24 PM >> *Subject:* [geo] Re: What Is Climate Geoengineering? Word Games in the >> Ongoing Debates Over a Definition >> >> >> I think the most accurate definition of climate geoengineering - Climate >> Engineering or (Insert new term here_________________), should include the >> following concept: >> >> >> *"geoengineering schemes seek to mitigate the effect of fossil-fuel >> combustion on the climate without abating fossil fuel use."* >> >> David Keith >> Ecyclopedia of Global Change - Environmental Change and Human Society - >> volume 1 (2002) >> Also here: >> "Geoengineering Climate - David Keith - Dept. of Chemistry and Chemical >> Biology - Harvard University - Cambridge, Massachusett >> http://keith.seas.harvard.edu/papers/16_Keith_1998_GeoengClimate_s.pdf >> >> I think this is doubly accurate in the case of fossil fuel CCS and >> enhanced oil recovery with carbon storage. I don't think any level of >> language sophistry, or legalese, will separate this fact from reality. >> >> I have to say that, I understand that the many climate geoengineering >> schemes have many different levels of risk, and other issues such as those >> raised by Dr. Smolker, but I don't oppose them in such a blanketed way. >> >> Best regards, >> >> Oscar E. >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "geoengineering" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected] <http://UrlBlockedError.aspx>. >> To post to this group, send email to >> [email protected]<http://UrlBlockedError.aspx> >> . >> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "geoengineering" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected] <http://UrlBlockedError.aspx>. >> To post to this group, send email to >> [email protected]<http://UrlBlockedError.aspx> >> . >> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "geoengineering" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "geoengineering" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
