Russ George has decided to take matters into his own hands so this summer he dumped about 120 tons of iron-sulfate into the Pacific Ocean. The theory being that this act of geoengineering will form into and algae bloom, which in turn will trap carbon, which in turn will reduce global warming. It's a theory without testing and the consequences are as yet unknown.
Mr. George is among a group on individuals that include Bill Gates, who believe that matters of climate change are not being taken seriously and therefore require citizen action. Mr. Gates is lending financial support to a company called Intellectual Ventures. Among the ventures is a scheme called Strato-Shield. It is essentially "a 19-mile-long hose suspended by helium balloons that would spew sunblocking sulfur dioxide particles into the sky and a tool that can supposedly blunt the force of hurricanes."*
The problem here should be obvious. These geoengineers are doing or planning to manipulate climate change that may be more devastating than what is going on now. For one thing Naomi Klein notes: "… the people who could well be most harmed by these technologies are already disproportionately vulnerable to the impacts of climate change."
* Geoengineering: Testing the Waters, by Naomi Klein, NYT, OpEd, 10-28-12
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