Changing the weather

The weather is easily the most talked about topic in the world. It is no different here in Sri Lanka, which has been battered by rain and winds during the past few weeks. There is a notion that ‘climate change’ is at least partly responsible for these patterns of weather. However, we are used to accept the weather as a phenomenon beyond our control. Indeed, we still cannot stop the rain or control the drought despite the great advances in science and technology.

That is no doubt on the wish list of Governments and even individuals everywhere. It is the holy grail of science and technology. The concept of changing the weather patterns even has a new name: Geoengineering. Now, five US Government agencies have started investigating new ideas to mitigate climate change.

The US$630,000 project will be run by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) with funding coming from the CIA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA.

The project is called “Geoengineering Climate: Technical Evaluation and Discussion of Impacts.” Geoengineering is a fairly broad term, but in this context it refers to efforts to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere or reflect solar radiation away from Earth to lessen the effects of global warming.

According to the project's official description, a committee of experts from various disciplines will “conduct a technical evaluation of a limited number of proposed geoengineering techniques, including examples of both solar radiation management and carbon dioxide removal techniques, and comment generally on the potential impacts of deploying these technologies, including possible environmental, economic, and national security concerns.” The 16-member committee, which has already met three times, includes experts from the University of California at San Diego, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Environmental Defense Fund, Carnegie Mellon University, Stanford University and other institutions.

Initiative

This is a commendable initiative, because tackling climate change would be the key to mitigating some of the adverse (and unseasonal) weather conditions on the planet. There is no need to reinvent the wheel with geoengineering - scientists around the world have published a vast range of material and studies and conducted many experiments on the subject. Reviewing these studies and acting upon their positive recommendations alone would be a step in the right direction. All developed countries must also be committed to reduce greenhouse emissions, one of the primary causes of global warming and hence, climate change.

As Jeff Goodell, author of the new best-selling book How to Cool the Planet: Geoengineering and the Audacious Quest to Fix Earth's Climate says, it is all about the idea of manipulating the Earth’s climate as a way to reduce the risks from global warming because the survival of human civilisation may eventually depend on it. “The real question is, how soon will we begin, and will we do it well or do it badly?,” he asks.

There is a glimmer of hope for mankind, because several leading scientists around the world are already engaged in cutting edge research on bioengineering. David Keith is a Canadian physicist who has started a company to design and build machines that capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, basically a sort of iron lung. Stephen Salter, a Scottish engineer, has designed boats that would spray billions of tiny droplets of seawater into the clouds to brighten them, so they will reflect more sunlight away from the Earth.

Our scientists and universities too must be involved in such efforts - as an island nation susceptible to any rise in sea levels and temperatures, we should be taking the threat of climate change far more seriously. 

There are two basic methods to cool the planet. The quickest method is simply to reflect away some of the sunlight. One way is to mimic a volcano and throw a small amount of dust into the stratosphere; the particles act as tiny mirrors, scattering sunlight. Another approach is brightening clouds over the oceans so that they reflect more light. The second method - one that would be much safer in the long run - is to develop new technologies to suck carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

Pitfalls

Geoengineering does have its pitfalls. Scientists say there could be potentially serious side effects, including damage to the ozone layer and increasing acidification of the oceans. Changing rainfall patterns is also a major concern.

Hundreds of millions of people are dependent on Asian monsoons for water to grow crops. Reducing the amount of sunlight that hits the Earth could alter the path of those monsoons, which would severely impact the food supply in Asia, including Sri Lanka.

Nevertheless, mankind simply has to take a risk to intelligently intervene in the climate system. As author Goodell points out, we could save lives and reduce suffering worldwide if it works well. This is why it is important to explore all these ideas with a view to implementation in the future. Managing the climate is a timely idea given the dire circumstances faced by inhabitants of Planet Earth.

In the meantime, there are little things that all of us can do to make our planet greener and healthier. You do not need a PhD in rocket science to realise that even the simple act of switching off a light bulb in an empty room will reduce power consumption by a tiny fraction and hence, the demand for thermal or coal power.

If this act is multiplied by even 1,000 times, there will be a substantial saving in the global fuel bill. If you walk to the junction instead of taking your car or SUV, the result will be similar.

Governments too should invest more in alternative green energy technologies such as wind and solar power which are renewable and non-polluting. They may be huge investments especially if done on a large scale, but the long-term results will be well worth the effort (and the money). Saving Planet Earth from the threat of climate change should be a collective exercise. After all, it is our common future that is at stake.