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If Cutting Carbon Emissions Isn’t Working, What’s Next?

13.03.2012

What if it is too late to save the climate by cutting greenhouse gas emissions? What if the amount of carbon dioxide already added to the atmosphere by human activity is so great that it is going to produce big temperature changes no matter what, with big shifts in rainfall and in ocean chemistry? Options remain, according to a new book, “Suck It Up,” by Marc Gunther, a journalist, blogger and speaker who specializes in energy and climate issues. If it is too late for zero-carbon electricity generation like wind, solar and nuclear to save us, then we should be exploring radical next steps, he writes. Those include tinkering with the atmosphere by injecting tiny droplets that will reflect some of the sun’s energy back into space and scavenging for carbon dioxide in ambient air.

Photo (c) Ryan Somma / Flickr