Physicians play "God" every day, improving/saving/prolonging lives using
unnatural, high tech methods. People flock to them. Where's the moral/ethical
handwringing here, and why is saving a life using a rational application of
science different from suggesting that through further research we might be
able to do the same for the planet?
Greg
From: Andrew Lockley <[email protected]>
To: geoengineering <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, March 22, 2015 4:44 AM
Subject: [geo] Playing God: The Social and Cultural Debate - The Carbon Tree
http://www.thecarbontree.com/geoengineering-part-2-playing-god-social-cultural-debate/Geoengineering
Part 2: Playing God - The Social and Cultural Debate
Phil AndersonFebruary 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.597–615Bracmort,K & Latanzio, R.K. (2013) Geoengineering: Governance and
Technology Policy, Congressional Research Service, [Online] Available from:
https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41371.pdfCorner, A & Pidgeon, N. (2010)
Geoengineering the Climate: the Social and ethical implications, Environment,
52(1), pp.25-37Goodell,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.457–479Rayfuse,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.297–326Royal Society (2009) Geoengineering the climate
Science, governance and uncertainty, [Online] Available from:
http://royalsociety.org/uploadedFiles/Royal_Society_Content/policy/publications/2009/8693.pdfSmetacek,
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. 136-157Wirth, D. A. (2013). Engineering the Climate:
Geoengineering as a Challenge to International Governance. Boston College
Environmental Affairs Law Review, 40(2),pp.413-437
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