Keep It in the Lab

A professor of science, technology, and society at Colby College responded to Kevin Bullis's article on the serious attention now being paid by prominent scientists to geoengineering schemes to combat global warming ("The Geoengineering Gambit," January/February 2010).

At MIT's "Engineering a Cooler Earth" symposium last October 30, audience responses to "Should We Try?" were more supportive and robust than those to "Can We Do It?" Of course we cannot and should not do it, since climate engineering is untested and dangerous. The American Meteorological Society's policy statement on geoengineering (also adopted by the American Geophysical Union) recommends more research of an interdisciplinary nature on any proposals to geoengineer climate. It urges coördinated study of the historical, ethical, legal, and social implications of geoengineering, and it calls for the development and analysis of policy options, including restrictions on reckless efforts to manipulate the climate. As I recently told the U.S. House Committee on Science and Technology, support is urgently needed for historical studies of existing environmental treaties, international accords, and efforts to govern new technologies. Any other geoengineering research should be conducted in labs and with computer models, not out of doors.
James Rodger Fleming
Waterville, ME