Page 249 - James Rodger Fleming - Fixing the sky

more complex and potentially unknowable interactions of Earth system sci-
ence—involving the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, the biosphere,
and, perhaps most important, society. After all, engineering deals with the tech-
nical side of human affairs, and the prefix “geo” potentially involves all aspects of
the planet, perhaps also its most prominent companions, the Sun and the Moon.
Fogg ventured into hyper-speculative territory when he discussed “astroengineer-
ing,” or modifying the properties of the Sun, by intervening in its opacity, nuclear
reactions, mass loss, chemical mixing, and even “accretion into a central black
hole.” Tellingly, Fogg admitted that “technical difficulties associated with astro-
engineering will be immense” (457–458).

ethical Consequences

Most studies have ignored, minimized, or barely mentioned important ethical
issues regarding geoengineering. The report of a 2009 study group, composed
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of prominently placed geoengineering advocates, candidly admits that the most
important sociopolitical and ethical constraints on implementing climate engi-
neering were largely outside the expertise of the technically oriented participants
and thus beyond the scope of their study. Every engineer has to seek a building
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permit for every project, to engage the community and the local authorities in
discussion, and to obsess (a lot) about design, safety, and cost. A well-engineered
project, especially at the “geo” scale, must be based on ethical principles and
practices, sound science, technologies and testing methods, economics (not just
immediate costs), politics (including legal and diplomatic aspects), and atten-
tion to social, cultural, medical, and environmental concerns. However, if it ever
comes down to it, who has the right to issue a permit for the intentional manipu-
lation of the global environment? Who does cost-benefit and safety analysis for
the planet? Who is liable for any engineering shortcomings or failures? Would
climate engineering, by counteracting the effects of greenhouse gas emissions,
create moral traps—for example, by reducing incentives to mitigate or by bur-
dening future generations with expensive and unwieldy projects? Where would
the global thermostat be located, and who would control it? Could designer
geoengineering be practiced at regional levels to address the greatest problems
while seeking to avoid a one-size-fits-all planetary fix? What if some group or
nation decided, unilaterally, to intervene in a heavy-handed way in planetary pro-
cesses and the results were viewed as detrimental to a region or even to the globe?
Could today’s climate control engineering fantasies, if acted out, lead to undesir-
able consequences and exacerbate international tensions? 22

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