Page 283 - James Rodger Fleming - Fixing the sky

molecular bonds from vibrating and rotating freely, thus preventing properly ret-
rofitted Co molecules from acting as strong infrared absorbers and emitters; in
2
lay terms, it would stop them from behaving like greenhouse gases. Imagine the
boost to industry and “American competitiveness” in developing high-tech and
26
“green-collar jobs” to manufacture and install more than 10 such submolecular
devices worldwide! of course this is nonsense, but in the coming years you will
see many such proposals to “fix the sky.” They will be couched in the language of
possibility and will convey a sense of unprecedented urgency. But now you know
the precedents, the checkered history of weather and climate control.
In 2009 I participated in an America’s Climate Choices workshop on geo-
engineering. At the meeting, convened by the National Academy of Sciences at
the request of Representative Alan Mollohan (D-West Virginia), the dominant
voices were those of scientists and social scientists interested in a full assessment
of the possibilities and dangers of geoengineering; influential policymakers were
the primary audience. Unlike earlier meetings, advocates for particular techno-
logical fixes were not in the ascendant. I consider this an encouraging develop-
ment as we seek more nuanced perspectives.
In my presentation, the only one representing the history of science and
technology, I pointed out how climate engineers mistakenly claim that they
are the “first generation” to propose climate control and how commercial and
military interests have inevitably influenced what scientists and engineers
have considered purely technical issues. Geoengineering, like climate change,
involves, quintessentially, socio-technical hybrid issues. As the American
Meteorological Society is recommending, any enhanced research on the sci-
entific and technological potential for geoengineering the climate system must
be accompanied by a comprehensive study of its historical, ethical, legal, and
social implications, an examination that integrates international, interdisci-
plinary, and intergenerational issues and perspectives and includes lessons
from past efforts to modify weather and climate. History can provide scholars
in other disciplines with detailed studies of past interventions by rainmakers
and climate engineers as well as structural analogs from a broad array of trea-
ties and interventions. only in such a coordinated fashion, in which research-
ers and policymakers participate openly, can the best options emerge to pro-
mote international cooperation, ensure adequate regulation, and avoid the
inevitable adverse consequences of rushing forward to fix the sky. I repeated
this message in my 2009 testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives, Com-
mittee on Science and Technology. 105
In his Critique of Pure Reason, the philosopher Immanuel Kant wrote: “The
whole interest of my reason . . . is concentrated in the three following questions:

266 | tHe Climate enGineerS