Recently, for Blue Ridge Press, I did a commentary piece about geoengineering, which I understand has now appeared in smaller papers all across the country, including this one, the Philly Tribune. The folks at Blue Ridge are very happy about how widely this column has circulated, especially given this line from the piece:
Unfortunately, you’ve probably never heard of “geoengineering.” Less than 1 percent of Americans currently know what it is, according to a recent poll by the Yale Project on Climate Change.
Perhaps I changed that the tiniest bit with the column (though I can hardly say even 1 percent of Americans read it). In any event, the point of the piece is to highlight the difference between the lack of public awareness about geoengineering and the ferment among scientists:
The utter lack of public awareness sharply contrasts with what’s happening in the expert arena, where talk of geoengineering the planet has become common. Top scientific organizations like the British Royal Society and the American Meteorological Society have suggested that scientists should at least study the possibility of interfering with the climate system, while Russian scientists have begun small-scale geoengineering field trials.
That’s right — this thing you’ve never heard of could soon be on a fast track to happening.
As far as raising awareness, I told readers that if they wanted more info, go read the twin books by Eli Kintisch
and Jeff Goodell
--which really deserve a much broader audience. The time may yet come when they get it.
