Research... okay, but geoengineering continues to raise a heck of a lot of red flags for me.
By no means do I deny what we're up against or disagree with my favorite blogger, but I'd like to emphasize that priorities must focus on changing our collective mindset and behavior regarding carbon in this country and beyond. Yes, we're indeed mucking up this home planet we share, but I'm not sure I'll ever be comfortable tinkering with natural systems. That said, conducting research to understand complexities may be a good thing provided it's done responsibly. What I know for sure is our trajectory has not been set yet and we still have the time to act. Today. Science will be part of the solution along with sound policy... and of course - all of us. So I'm not at odds with a push to fund research initiatives and I'm also not jumping on the geoengineering bandwagon. You see, I often run into folks who believe 'science will solve all our problems, so why worry?' which sounds to me like suggesting we need not take responsibility for our actions in the here and now. While they're correct that science innovation is promising, it's equally important we all remember science is not infallible. (Remember that hiccup with the Mars Climate Orbiter?) So this marine scientist will need strong convincing if at some point we intend to carry out geoengineering beyond the investigative stage. In the mean time, I continue to support efforts such as protecting and regrowing forested land in the tropics because with initiatives like these, we know what to expect and will see real results.
