Sprayed Aerosols Could Ease Climate Woes

Dec. 29, 2008 -- It won't solve global warming, but a group of scientists are calling for a focused research program to investigate ways to seed the atmosphere with chemicals that would let the heat out -- literally.

Geoengineering is not a new concept. Governments have changed how and where water flows, filled in lakes and other wetlands for construction, even attempted to control the weather. A project to counter climate change, however, would take geoengineering to an entirely new level.

Leaving aside what may be insurmountable political, cultural and ethical issues, scientists meeting at the American Geophysical Conference in San Francisco earlier this month focused on the practical aspects of releasing gases into the stratosphere that could open Earth's greenhouse.

Scientists are concerned that Earth is growing increasingly warm due to "greenhouse gases," such as carbon dioxide, in the atmosphere that inhibit the planet's ability to radiation heat into space.

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Human-related activities, such as burning fossil fuels, are believed to be accelerating the planet's accumulation of greenhouse gases, even though naturally occurring phenomena such as volcanic eruptions and fires account for 97 percent of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

"Even if we stopped emissions instantly today...we still have enough CO2 in the atmosphere that it is possible we would have unacceptable levels of climate risk," said David Keith, with the University of Calgary's Energy and Environmental Systems Group.

"While we may be lucky and find climate only warms by a degree or so, we may be unlucky and find it's more like five or six (degrees)," he added. "We're not going to know until we've put enough CO2 to make an irreversible decision."