Two Harvard engineers are to spray sun-reflecting chemical particles into the atmosphere to artificially cool the planet, using a balloon flying 80,000 feet over Fort Sumner, New Mexico. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/jul/17/us-geoengineers-spray-sun-balloon
Vandana Shiva and Gwynne Dyer debated the propriety of geo-engineering back in 2010. Democracy Now posted these videos on Youtube:
Part 1
Part 2
Debated may be a misnomer, don't you think? As Vandana Shiva points out, geo - engineering is a fix by the thinking that created climate change. And, whatever the consequences of preventing sunlight from reaching the earth, that won't do much to prevent the oceans from acidfying.
The Pacific Ocean is growing more acidic at a much faster rate than anticipated, scientists say, putting everything from corals to mussels in jeopardy. Researchers say carbon dioxide from the atmosphere forms carbonic acid in the ocean, changing the seawater enough that it can dissolve the shells of coral and shellfish.Can you say Easter Island? We keep doing the same old things while the bad news rolls in - but it's OK to cut down the last tree because ....otherwise we'd have to change.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/07/16/bc-ocean-acidification.html?cmp=rss
Please write the Right Honorable Stephen Harper and instruct him to pass meaningful legislation on greenhouse gas emissions. (Yes, government need to do this - just how did your individual actions stop acid rain? Or fix the hole in the ozone layer? They didn't - international agreements/ laws did.)
Individual actions do count - especially in a community setting. So start a Transition Town in your community to smooth our inevitable carbon descent. And plant some trees while you're at it.
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