University of Calgary
Global sun block
|
Research on “global sun block” needed
David Keith says research on solar-radiation management needs to begin soon.Research and field-testing on “geoengineering” the planet’s atmosphere to limit risk of climate change should begin soon, say scientists from the University of Calgary and the United States.Collaborative and government-supported studies on solar-radiation management, a form of geo-engineering, would reduce the risk of nations’ unilateral experiments and help identify technologies with the least risk, says U of C scientist David Keith, in an article published Wednesday in Nature, the top-ranked science journal. Co-authors of the opinion piece are Edward Parson at the University of Michigan and Granger Morgan at Carnegie Mellon University. “Solar-radiation management may be the only human response that can fend off rapid and high-consequence climate change impacts. The risks of not doing research outweigh the risks of doing it,” says Keith, director of the Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy’s energy and environmental systems group and a professor in the Schulich School of Engineering. Solar-radiation management (SRM) would involve releasing megatonnes of light-scattering aerosol particles in the upper atmosphere to reduce Earth’s absorption of solar energy, thereby cooling the planet. Another technique would be to release particles of sea salt to make low-altitude clouds reflect more solar energy back into space. SRM should not take the place of making deep cuts in industrial greenhouse gas emissions and taking action to adapt to climate change, Keith and his American colleagues stress. However, they say: “We must develop the capability to do SRM in a manner that complements such cuts, while managing the associated environmental and political risks.” The scientists propose that governments establish an international research budget for SRM that grows from about $10 million to $1 billion a year between now and the end of 2020. They urge that research results be available to all and risk assessments be as transparent and international as possible to build sound norms of governance for SRM. 
|
January 28, 2010