"We" (and I feel that term itself is fallacious, as there is no "we") have never really done a megaproject in the sense described. The phenomena of "ubiquitous fossil fuel use and unsustainable population growth" are not "projects" in any sense of the word, they are emergent consequences of a vast complex set of system.
Building a "huge social arrangement and a new global infrastructure" really IS a megaproject - requiring actual global agreement and coordination - not just the blind hand of the market. So yes, "we" do need to learn how to do megaprojects - but suggesting we've been doing one all along, and getting it wrong, is really conflating issues. Managing the use of fossil fuel might be a global mega project in the future, but it sure isn't one now - and population growth even less so. Mick On Mon, May 12, 2014 at 11:06 AM, Greg Rau <gh...@sbcglobal.net> wrote: > "What is being considered is not just a set of contraptions but a huge > social arrangement and a new global infrastructure – a so-called > megaproject." > Well, our current megaproject, ubiquitous fossil energy use and > unsustainable population growth, got us to this point, so it's clear we can > do things and influence things on a global scale, no novelty here. But if > we can't effectively steer or modify (in time) our current megaproject, is > the consideration of further corrective "megaprojects" (social, political > and technological) unthinkable/unwise? In any case, it would appear that we > need to learn to do megaprojects correctly or suffer the consequences. > Greg > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Andrew Lockley <andrew.lock...@gmail.com> > *To:* geoengineering <geoengineering@googlegroups.com> > *Sent:* Sunday, May 11, 2014 11:14 PM > *Subject:* [geo] Climate Engineering and the Contraption Fallacy - Guest > Post - Olaf Corry, Open University | WGC > > > http://dcgeoconsortium.org/2014/05/06/guest-post-olaf-corry-open-university-climate-engineering-and-the-contraption-fallacy/?utm_source=feedly&utm_reader=feedly&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=guest-post-olaf-corry-open-university-climate-engineering-and-the-contraption-fallacy > Climate Engineering and the Contraption Fallacy – Guest Post – Olaf Corry, > Open University | WGC > May 6, 2014 > Introduction in lieu of abstract > Considering climate engineering as a range of technical apparatuses makes > it look too easy. Viewing them as megaprojects would be more > hard-headed.Aerosols in the stratosphere, artificial trees or spraying sea > water to whiten clouds – many consider climate engineering essentially to > be a range of technologies designed to either extract carbon dioxide from > the atmosphere or reflect more sunlight back out into space to counter > global warming.Inventors and scientists – but also policy-makers – tend to > focus primarily on the physical apparatus and technical systems: how would > climate engineering options work and perhaps how much would they cost?While > this is a natural place to start it also misses a huge part of the > question. What is being considered is not just a set of contraptions but a > huge social arrangement and a new global infrastructure – a so-called > megaproject. > -- > 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 geoengineering+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to geoengineering@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > > > -- > 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 geoengineering+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to geoengineering@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- 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 geoengineering+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to geoengineering@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
