From USA Today- The president's new science adviser said Wednesday that global warming is so dire, the Obama administration is discussing radical technologies to cool Earth's air.John Holdren told the Associated Press in his first interview since being confirmed last month that the idea of geoengineering the climate is being discussed. One such extreme option includes shooting pollution particles into the upper atmosphere to reflect the sun's rays. Holdren said such an experimental measure would only be used as a last resort.
"It's got to be looked at," he said. "We don't have the luxury of taking any approach off the table."
Holdren, a 65-year-old physicist, is far from alone in taking geoengineering more seriously. The National Academy of Science is making climate tinkering the subject of its first workshop in its new multidiscipline climate challenges program. The British parliament has also discussed the idea.
I am not one of those conservatives who automatically discounts all global warming theories. From my layman's perspective the science is split as to what is happening in terms of climate. In general I believe that conservation, protection of natural resources and preservation of open space should be a top priority. I do think we should account for, and deal with the reasons for climate change through the development of practical climate solutions that create economic opportunities and are aimed at reducing greenhouse gasses. However, I do not subscribe to the world-is-ending "doomsdayism" of the Al Gore crowd.
All that said- blocking out the sun's rays sounds a bit too much like playing with fire for me.
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