Massive, futuristic schemes to spur land and sea into sucking up greenhouse gases may help fight global warming but are no substitute for reducing the pollution itself, scientist claim. Once dismissed as daft or dangerous, some of these 'geo-engineering' projects can be of use in fending off the juggernaut of climate change, but only if they go hand-in-hand with cuts in carbon emissions, they warned. 'Geo-engineering' describes large-scale schemes such as erecting sunshades or mirrors in space, sowing the stratosphere with white particles or whitewashing buildings roofs to reflect sunlight, or scattering iron filings in the ocean to promote carbon gobbling algae. Green groups, however, are suspicious of these schemes. In a paper being publishedin the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, researchers at Britain's University of East Anglia make the first attempt to calculate the effectiveness of the schemes." We found that some geo engineering options could usefully complement mitigation (of emissions), and together they could cool climate ", said Tim Lenton, a professor of environmental sciences, "But geo-engineering alone cannot solve the problem".
The Hindu, 28th January 2009
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