Geoengineering, a concept that may have sounded like science-fiction a couple of decades ago, is now being seriously considered as a last-resort option, in the fight against global warming. Though they may seem extreme, solutions like injecting the atmosphere with specific particles of dust may be the last things standing in the way of our planet's overheating.

 

Ken Caldeira, a scientist at the Carnegie Institution, in the US, says "We need a climate engineering research and development plan, in addition to strong measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions." As new fossil fuel deposits are being exploited in areas previously thought inaccessible, such as deep ocean floors and icy seas, the prospect of renewable energy taking over oil, coal and natural gases as the primary source of electricity for the planet moves further away.

 

The current economic crisis, apart from putting people out of jobs and causing severe turmoil in world markets, also shifts attention from pressing climate issues back to profits and the economy. In these circumstances, it becomes less and less likely that governments will dedicate large resources to developing viable alternatives to fossil fuels, seeing how exploiting these resources is very cheap.

 

Plus, countries like China and India, which are producing more and more carbon, already announced that they had no intention of cutting back on their yearly emitted amounts, either because they had no other resources to tap, or because of party ideology. For a communist country like China, the prospect of bowing down to the demands of the West can be perceived as a sign of weakness, which the Beijing authorities cannot afford.

 

"Prudence demands that we consider what we might do in the face of unacceptable climate damage, which could occur despite our best efforts to rein in greenhouse gas emissions." Science is needed to address critical questions, among them: How effective would various climate engineering proposals be at achieving their climate goals? What unintended outcomes might result? How might these unintended outcomes affect both human and natural systems? "Engineering is needed both to build deployable systems and to keep the science focused on what’s technically feasible," Caldeira said.

 

According to various studies, anticipatory measures should have been set in place years ago, but material concerns, such as immediate profits, still plague many nations, including the developed countries of the West and developing economies in Asia. Until awareness levels climb to a point where the population takes direct action to cut back emissions, it's very unlikely that governments will do so of their own free will.