http://www.thecarbontree.com/geoengineering-part-2-playing-god-social-cultural-debate/
Geoengineering Part 2: Playing God - The Social and Cultural Debate Phil Anderson February 6th, 2015 The concept of controlling the natural climate through Geoengineering unravels a multitude of social, ethical and political issues. “The biggest barriers to the implementation of Geoengineering proposals relate to social, ethical and political issues of developing legal and fair methods of managing Geoengineering.” (Royal Society, 2009) One of the most discussed aspects of geoengineering is not the plausibility of the science related to creating these technologies, it’s a question of should we do it! There are substantial moral and ethical issues relating to humanities right to “bet” on saving the globe through geoengineering (Mark, 2009). Through geoengineering we would create global control, described as “Godlike”. Many religions see their God(s) as the controlling factor of the planet and climate, what gives human beings the right to take that control? “Once powers bestowed by gods, control over weather and climate is now sought through technology due to shifts in humanity’s relationship with nature.” (Bellamy et al., 2012, pp.598) Taking control of the climate is contentious. “The heavens were considered the playgrounds of the Gods” (Goodell, 2010). This scale of global control can be traced to mythologies such as the parables of Zeus the “Cloud Gatherer” and in Norse mythology Thor who controlled the skies. The climate was once the ‘domain of the Gods’, now this realm is becoming examined. Humans would become the controlling factor in stewardship of the planet, resulting in what Mark (2009) deduces as a shift from a relation of meaning between humans and nature, to a source of potential threat where nature is no longer independent from humankind. The moral hazard of accepting that we live in a manmade world creates assumptions of the end of wilderness living in a “global zoo” (Preston, 2011). “Through technology we distance ourselves with the natural world…. Geoengineering may well turn out to be another tool of dominance, a new-fangled way for human beings to screw things up even faster.” (Goodell, 2010, pp.216-7) Nature’s place within society will become questioned. There are psychological consequences. “What happens when the colour of the sky on a particular day is the result not of Mother Nature, but of the geoengineers who are spreading dust in the stratosphere? What happens to our romance with nature when we are living in a terrarium?” (Goodell, 2010). Finally there’s the question of global representation. Who controls geoengineering technologies? How will it be regulated? New technologies may become available to private sector business without authorisation (Bracmort & Latanzio, 2013). The engaging debate of geoengineering is not of the science, it’s of humanities right to control the planet. Many people worry that a few rich westerners will take control of these technologies and have complete dominance of the Earth’s climate. “Geoengineering actions are certain to have global effects whether or not they occur within a single states jurisdiction” (Wirth, 2013, pp.428) Scientists who favour geoengineering relate to a “lesser evils” argument, deducing geoengineering as a last resort against global warming (Preston, 2011). The moral context in which the decision to undertake geoengineering continually takes place around the question; do we have a choice? Even though there is risk of moral corruption via advocating geoengineering, it remains that it might be the lesser evil. References: Bellamy,R. Chilvers,J. Vaughan,N.E. and Lenton, T.M. (2012) A review of climate geoengineering appraisals, Climate Change ,3, pp.597–615 Bracmort,K & Latanzio, R.K. (2013) Geoengineering: Governance and Technology Policy, Congressional Research Service, [Online] Available from: https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41371.pdf Corner, A & Pidgeon, N. (2010) Geoengineering the Climate: the Social and ethical implications, Environment, 52(1), pp.25-37 Goodell,J. (2010) How to cool the planet: Geoengineering and the Audacious Quest to fix Earth’s climate, Mariner Books, New York. Mark, J. (2009). Hacking the sky. Earth Island Journal. Preston, C.J. (2011) Re-Thinking the Unthinkable: Environmental Ethics and the Presumptive Argument against Geoengineering, Environmental Values, 20, pp.457–479 Rayfuse,R. Lawrence, M.G. Gjerde, K.M. (2008) Ocean Fertilisation and Climate Change: The Need to Regulate Emerging High Seas Uses, The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law, 23, pp.297–326 Royal Society (2009) Geoengineering the climate Science, governance and uncertainty, [Online] Available from: http://royalsociety.org/uploadedFiles/Royal_Society_Content/policy/publications/2009/8693.pdf Smetacek, V & Naqvi, S.W.A (2008) The next generation of iron fertilization experiments in the Southern Ocean. Tuana,N. Sriver ,R. Svoboda,T. Olson,R. Irvine,P.J. Haqq-Misra,J. and Keller,K. (2012) Towards Integrated Ethical and Scientific Analysis of Geoengineering: A Research Agenda, Ethics Policy & Environment,15(2), pp. 136-157 Wirth, D. A. (2013). Engineering the Climate: Geoengineering as a Challenge to International Governance. Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review, 40(2),pp.413-437 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. 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