What We're Reading: Edward

How to Cool the Planet: geoengineering and the audacious quest to fix Earth's climate

by Jeff Goodell

If you saw the video, An Inconvenient Truth or heard about "cap and trade", you know that the Kyoto Accords limit our production of gasses that contribute to global warming. Some scientists believe that it may take 100 years to stop climate change by this method. Other scientists believe that geoengineering is needed to quickly stop climate change. Goodell explores the history of geoengineering. Wasn't it the engineers who gave us the power plants, factories and cars that got us into this fix in the first place? Is it hubris for them to think that they can engineer their way out of this global crisis? Cloud brightening, plankton blooms, carbon sinks will any of these plans work? Goodell interviews the scientists who are planning and making these possible solutions. Some of them sound like snake oil salesmen, while others sound like environmental extremists. You need to read this book to make an informed decision on this important topic. You might also want to try reading two books by Henry Petrowski: To Engineer is Human: the role of failure in successful design and Essential Engineer: why science alone will n0t solve our global problems.