As climate change advances, some scientists have begun seriously studying a set of dramatic, deliberate interventions in the Earth’s systems — from reflecting sunlight away to pulling carbon dioxide out of the air. This episode explains what geoengineering actually proposes, weighs the tempting logic against the serious risks and deep uncertainties, and treats the whole subject with the caution it genuinely deserves.
You’ll come away understanding the two broad families of geoengineering, why reflecting sunlight is both cheap and frightening, why removing carbon is safer but slow and costly, and why “moral hazard” is at the centre of the debate.
Talking Science is sponsored by Kinsoft. Visit www.kinsoft.com.au
Further reading: Royal Society – “Geoengineering the Climate”; IPCC reports – carbon dioxide removal and solar radiation modification; CSIRO – climate intervention research.
