Risky Business

This diagram displays the solar geo-engineering project of putting
reflectors in the atmosphere and its hopeful benefits.

During the summer pools are crowded throughout the country with people lounging in chairs basking in sun rays. Not all of these people may be wearing the proper amount of sunscreen to protect them from the sun’s harmful rays however they are all wearing stylish sunglasses to protect their eyes from those rays.  Solar geo-engineering or solar radiation management scientists have proposed a project that would have the same objective as when we put on our sunglasses.  Solar geo-engineering scientists are working on a way to be able to put a ring of sunlight-scattering particles. This ring of sunlight-scatting particles would reduce the amount of solar radiation hitting the planet and thus

counteract some of the global warming that is induced by the greenhouse gases. Solar geo-engineering may help in cooling down the planet however there are many uncertainties and risks such a project.

If solar geo-engineering could help prevent or slow down global warming in any way wouldn’t that be reason enough to keep going forth on the project? Maybe not if you analyze the risk. If scientists go forth with this project the Earth’s climate patterns would be affected. Tropical regions near the equator are heated more by the sun than higher latitudes of the Earth. If there are reflective sun rays in the atmosphere that create a cooling effect, they could also reduce the sunlight in those tropical regions. Reducing the sunlight in the tropical regions could offset the climate change and thus reduce the amount of rainfall in the tropics. Two-thirds of all rain falls in the tropics. The tropics

This diagram displays how the solar geo-engineering reflector in
the atmosphere would block the sun rays.

now have an immense amount of sunlight therefore it is able to evaporate the rainfall. However if there is less sunlight there will be less evaporation and thus less rainfall. This is just one risk that solar geo-engineering poses on the Earth. There are several more risks that could occur and several uncertainties altogether on the project.  Do the benefits of solar geo-engineering really outweigh the risks? We should consider precautionary principle if there are major risks that could possibly outweigh the benefits.  The mathematician, Peter Saunders advocated for the precautionary principle. He stated, “All it actually amounts to is this: if one is embarking on something new, one should think very carefully about whether it is safe or not, and should not go ahead until reasonably convinced it is. It is just common sense”(Bell 251).

Solar geo-engineering could be the solution to global warming. However precautionary measures should be taken if solar geo-engineering projects right now pose serious threats to the environment or human health. For society to understand the risks of solar geo-engineering, society needs to engage in reflexive modernization.  Reflexive modernization is, “a form of modernization in which we think critically and engage in democratic debate about science and technology” (Bell 246). The goal is for society to raise questions and create a dialogue that breaks down the barriers between laboratory science and society’s knowledge of that science. Society needs to understand both the benefits and the risks before we do something drastic to the environment.  Solar geo-engineering would help slow down global warming however there are some obvious risks to it. We need to ensure these benefits are going to outweigh any risk that creates a threat on humanity’s health and the environment before we put this project in motion. 

Sources:

Bell, Michael. An Invitation to Environmental Sociology. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge, 1998. Print.

 "Climate Science Info Zone." Backup Plan: Sunglasses in Space - - Science Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Apr. 2015

"Future of Solar Geoengineering Far from Settled." MIT News. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Apr. 2015.

"Should We Use Geoengineering to Cool the Earth? An Interview with David Keith." Washington Post. The Washington Post, n.d. Web. 5 Apr. 2015.