Is geoengineering or adaptation the best way to deal with Climate Change?

Question

Whatever the cause of Climate Change is, is it best to alter the planet we live on to suit our needs, or to alter our lifestyles to suit the planet?

Answer 1

We're going to need to do both.

If we simply do nothing about greenhouse gases the consequences are horrible. Rich nations will spend hundreds of billions dealing with coastal flooding and damage to agriculture. There could easily be a worldwide depression. In poor countries many people will die of starvation.

If we try to stop it altogether, the consequences to our economy are equally bad.

So we need to do cost effective things to reduce its' impacts to the point where we can cope. As a bonus we'll reduce our dependency on expensive and unstable oil.

How best to do that is a worthy debate.

Arguing against all the solid scientific evidence that says global warming is mostly caused by man's emission of greenhouse gases isn't, but I suppose we have to go through that to get where we need to go.

Here's a nice short snapshot of the science:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Climate_Change_Attribution.png

Here's the real deal:

http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM2feb07.pdf

Answer 2

The problem in altering our lifestlye to suit the planet is that the extend to which it would have to be altered is so dramatic that people aren't going to be willing to make the necessary changes.

In 2006 humans activities of all kinds put 29 billion tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, to halt the warming trend we'd need to go back to lifestyles more akin to that of our great-grandparents. We'd have to be willing to sacrifice a lot of modern technologies and comforts such as travel, central heating and intensive agriculture.

In the longer term we may be able to develop environmentally sound technologies but we'd need to find alternatives to cement, plastic, coal, oil, gas and many other things on which we are so dependent. This isn't going to be cheap and it won't happen overnight.

What we don't know for sure is where the 'tipping point' is. Can we adapt before reaching this point or do we need to take mitigating action now? Some peple say we're on the verge right now, others that it's 20 or 30 years away.

20 or 30 years may sound a long time but consider how little has really changed in the way we live our lives since 1987 or 1977. Changes would have to be radical and implemented in the space of a single generation, and even then it may be too late.

Geoengineering is a solution and several schemes have been put forward. Broadly they fall into three areas - adjusting the environment, sequestering greenhouse gases and blocking sunlight. Some schemes are permanent or semi-permenant and could have unforeseen consequences. Others such as clour seeding and artificial trees have the advantage that they can be 'switched on and off' and as such we have control over them.

Ultimately I think we need to address climate change from different angles. We should be looking at geoengineering as a safety net or a way to buy us more time whilst developing cleaner technologies.

Answer 3

We need to alter our lifestyles. I think we've already done enough planet altering. In fact, I read an interesting article that identifies people as invasive species in most areas. We learn that invasive species spread too quickly, use more than their share of the ecosystem resources, crowd out other species, and generally upset the balance of the ecosystem. That pretty much describes people.

Answer 4

We CAN'T alter the planet....not on any scale hollywood or the eco-religion would make you want to believe.

adaptation is the best way...and it makes us and every other species all the better for it....enjoy!

Answer 5

Geo-engineering is the best way to deal with almost any problem involving man and his environment..... when just engineers deal with problems they are ignorant of the geology concerning their decisions and this why roads flood ...homes are built on the floodplain ...cities are built on active faults etc etc etc.....

Answer 6

Adaptation is the best way.

All these scientists go on about we are all going to die because the earth is changing so much we will not be able to live on it.

HELLO!! We are creatures we are able to adapt I believe that we will continue to evolve so we can keep on living on this planet.