Temple seems to have missed the "Evil Ken" side of Dr. Caldeira's character. Wasn't there a recent *NATURE* | COLUMN: WORLDVIEW piece<http://www.nature.com/news/no-we-should-not-just-at-least-do-the-research-1.12777>that told us all these scientists who study geoengineering are out of touch with reality and too stupid to think things through? Just look at all those capital letters. The SF Chronicle hardly has any capital letters....
On Tuesday, June 11, 2013 3:10:23 PM UTC-7, Ken Caldeira wrote: > > > http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/Bay-Area-top-climate-scientist-tirelessly-warning-4569221.php > > (extract of story by James Temple) > > The skeptic > > One afternoon in July 1998, Caldeira sat among a roomful of scientists at > the Aspen Global Change Institute in a state of disbelief. > > > Lowell > Wood<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=science&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Lowell+Wood%22>, > > the big, disheveled astrophysicist and archconservative best known as the > Pentagon's go-to weapons developer, was delivering a deliberately > provocative talk. > > > Wood told his audience that spraying sulfur particles into the > stratosphere would handily offset global warming, essentially mimicking the > effect of huge volcanic eruptions that had cooled the globe in the past. > Nuclear war would be another quick fix, he said, because it would decimate > a huge portion of humanity and its energy infrastructure. > > > Caldeira, the former antinuclear activist, bristled at the idea of pumping > chemicals into the atmosphere to counteract the chemicals we're pumping > into the atmosphere. He also was convinced it simply wouldn't work, and set > up a rigorous computer simulation to prove it. > > > Instead, to his surprise, the results suggested Wood was basically right: > There just might be a knob on the global thermostat within our reach. > > > And so, without intending to, Caldeira lent his considerable scientific > and environmental credentials to an idea that makes him deeply > uncomfortable to this day. He helped push geoengineering into the > scientific mainstream. > > > The apostate > > In the years since, Caldeira has continued to publish research on > geoengineering. He also co-manages a fund established with money from > Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates that invests in > early research. > > > It's the most controversial area of Caldeira's work, sharply dividing > those calling for action on climate change. > > > The suggestion that scientists can take control of Earth's climate strikes > many as hubris, akin to playing God. Others worry that talk of > technological solutions eases the pressure to stop pulling fossil fuels > from the ground. > > > There are scientific objections as well. Some evidence suggests that > stratospheric injection could deplete ozone levels and alter monsoon > patterns in Asia and Africa, potentially affecting food supplies for > billions of people. > > > "That's an extremely serious threat," said Wil Burns, director of the > energy policy and climate program at Johns Hopkins University. > > > Caldeira's own research has found that geoengineering would actually > increase world crop yields by reducing the heat stress caused by > global warming. > > > Still, he insists he doesn't advocate geoengineering. What he advocates is > cutting greenhouse gas emissions as rapidly and dramatically as possible. > > > But that's not happening, even as years go by; temperatures creep up and > predictions turn gloomier. He worries that some stopgap measure eventually > may be required to avoid disaster. So he believes it's only responsible to > research the risks and benefits of geoengineering now. > > > "I am in favor of fire insurance," he once said in explaining his stance. > "But I am also against playing with matches while sitting on a keg > of gunpowder." > > > > > -- > _______________ > Ken Caldeira > > Carnegie Institution for Science > Dept of Global Ecology > 260 Panama Street, Stanford, CA 94305 USA > +1 650 704 7212 kcal...@carnegiescience.edu <javascript:> > http://dge.stanford.edu/labs/caldeiralab @kencaldeira > > *Caldeira Lab is hiring postdoctoral researchers.* > *http://dge.stanford.edu/labs/caldeiralab/Caldeira_employment.html* > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "geoengineering" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to geoengineering+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to geoengineering@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/geoengineering?hl=en. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
