Obama climate adviser open to geo-engineering to tackle global warming

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/apr/08/geo-engineering-john-holdren

Obama climate adviser open to geo-engineering to tackle global warming

Alok Jha, green technology correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 8 April 2009 22.42 BST

The global warming situation has become so dire that Barack Obama's chief scientific adviser has raised with the president the possibility of massive-scale technological fixes to alter the climate known as 'geo-engineering'.

John Holdren, who is a member of the president's cabinet, said today the drastic measures should not be "off the table" in discussions on how best to tackle climate change. While his office insisted that he was not proposing a dramatic switch in policy, Holdren said geo-engineering could not be ruled out.

"It's got to be looked at. We don't have the luxury of taking any approach off the table," Holdren said in an interview with Associated Press. He made clear these were his personal views.

The suite of mega-technological fixes includes everything from placing mirrors in space that reflect sunlight from the Earth, to fertilising the oceans with iron to encourage the growth of algae that can soak up atmospheric carbon dioxide. Another option is to seed clouds which bounce the sun's rays back into space so they do not warm the Earth's surface.

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[OKIsItJustMe]

1. Obama looks at climate engineering—"in a car with bad brakes driving toward a cliff in the fog."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hm1kMpA2nQALOfQL8Y8PxxTHNVtgD97ECHLG1

AP Newsbreak: Obama looks at climate engineering

By SETH BORENSTEIN

WASHINGTON (AP) — The president's new science adviser said Wednesday that global warming is so dire, the Obama administration is discussing radical technologies to cool Earth's air.

John Holdren told The Associated Press in his first interview since being confirmed last month that the idea of geoengineering the climate is being discussed. One such extreme option includes shooting pollution particles into the upper atmosphere to reflect the sun's rays. Holdren said such an experimental measure would only be used as a last resort.

…

Holdren outlined several "tipping points" involving global warming that could be fast approaching. Once such milestones are reached, such as complete loss of summer sea ice in the Arctic, it increases chances of "really intolerable consequences," he said.

Twice in a half-hour interview, Holdren compared global warming to being "in a car with bad brakes driving toward a cliff in the fog."

…

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. Greenhouse gases must be cut, Obama aide says

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/04/08/MN2416V8Q9.DTL

Greenhouse gases must be cut, Obama aide says

Jane Kay, Chronicle Environment Writer

Thursday, April 9, 2009
(04-08) 20:14 PDT -- In sharp contrast to the low priority the Bush administration gave to global warming, President Obama's new science adviser said Wednesday that the world's industrialized nations must immediately cut greenhouse gas emissions to ward off the most extreme effects of climate change.

"We are already experiencing increased heat waves, drought, wildfires, floods and pest infestations - all of that is at today's levels," said physicist John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

"In my judgment, climate change is already dangerous, and the question is, 'Can we stop short of a completely unmanageable degree of climate change?' " he said.

Holdren called for deep cuts in emissions, more climate research and greater preparation for inevitable planetary change. He also is pressing for large investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

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[kristopher]

3. Distortion of Holdren's message

Holdren: "I said that the approaches that have been surfaced so far seem problematic in terms of both efficacy and side effects, but we have to look at the possibilities and understand them because if we get desperate enough it will be considered. I also made clear that this was my personal view, not Administration policy.

Asked whether I had mentioned geo-engineering in any White House discussions, though, I said that I had. This is NOT the same thing as saying the White House is giving serious consideration to geo-engineering - which it isn't - and I am disappointed that the headline and the text of the article suggest otherwise."

Thanks to bananas: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3824481

[yop]

4. Makes sense to study all options

With the degree of uncertainty in our models and the potentially catastrophic outcomes, we really, really cannot afford to take any options off the table.

Here's a geoengineering idea that I had: http://www.whynot.net/ideas/5071

Just throwing it out there. Tear it up.