Geoengineering Could Trigger Disaster in Parts of Africa
Less than three weeks after two US researchers called for global agreement on the governance of geo-engineering research, British meteorologists have provided a case study in potential geo-engineering disaster. Jim Haywood from the Met Office Hadley Centre and colleagues report in Nature Climate Change that fine particles concentrated in the … Read More
Volcanic Eruption in Iceland Did Little to Lower CO2
Plankton, tiny marine organisms, are a good way of cleansing the atmosphere of one of the main greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide. To do this they need dissolved iron to help them to grow, and if they lack iron then they cannot do much to reduce CO2 levels. So the eruption in 2010 of an Icelandic volcano gave scientists a perfect opportunity to see h… Read More
Shell Barred From Arctic Drilling Without Overhaul
Shell "screwed up" drilling for oil in Arctic waters and will not be allowed back without a comprehensive overhaul of its plans, the Obama administration said on Thursday. A government review found the oil company was not prepared for the extreme conditions in the Arctic, which resulted in a series of blunders and accidents culminating in the New … Read More
Rules Needed for Geoengineering Research, Experts Say
With no clear rules to guide new research, scientists are shying away from examining whether geoengineering technologies can effectively cool the planet, and at what cost. That’s the warning put forth by a pair of climate change experts in an essay published Thursday in the journal Science, which argues that the global geoengineering debate is in… Read More
Ex-IPCC Head: Prepare for 5°C Warmer World
The world has missed the chance to keep greenhouse gas emissions below the level needed to prevent the temperature climbing above 2° Celsius, according to the British scientist who used to chair the IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.… Read More
World’s Biggest Geoengineering Test ‘Violates’ UN Rules
Controversial U.S. businessman's iron fertilization off the west coast of Canada contravenes two UN conventions.… Read More
Geoengineering Faces Dilemma: Experiment or Not?
In May, a team of British scientists abruptly canceled an experiment they had been planning for nearly two years. The Stratospheric Particle Experiment for Climate Engineering, or SPICE, was intended to test ways of injecting tiny particles of sulfur dioxide into the upper atmosphere, with the eventual goal of filtering out sunlight to cool the… Read More
Scientists Suggest ‘Cloud Brightening’ To Halt Hurricanes
As Tropical Storm Isaac batters southeastern Louisiana and nearby coastal areas with surging seas, howling winds, and torrential rainfall, it’s nearly impossible to imagine that humans could have done anything to stop such powerful force of nature. Nearly impossible, but not quite. A team of atmospheric scientists, writing in the journal Atmosphe… Read More
