Go offline with the Player FM app!
The Green Elephant in the Room: Solutions To Restoring the Health of People and the Living Planet
«
»
Playing God with the Planet: Engineering Our Way to Disaster
Manage episode 488367931 series 2801733
This episode explores geo-engineering - humanity's most audacious attempt to technologically control Earth's climate systems. From injecting sulfur particles into the stratosphere to mimic massive volcanic eruptions, to the mind-boggling proposal of moving Earth's entire orbit, these planetary-scale interventions represent our species' ultimate expression of technological overconfidence.
The episode examines two main approaches: solar radiation management (essentially giving the planet sunglasses by reflecting sunlight) and carbon dioxide removal (directly pulling greenhouse gases from the atmosphere). Both require staggering industrial scales - equivalent to one Mount Pinatubo eruption every few years, or thousands of massive facilities removing billions of tons of CO2 annually.
We argue that instead of gambling on unproven planetary interventions that could lock us into permanent technological dependence, we should focus on distributed, democratic solutions that work with natural systems rather than attempting to dominate them.
A CALL TO ACT: The World's Most Comprehensive Database of Eco-Solutions
Trumping Trump: Database of 200+ Organizations United in Blunting Trump.
112 episodes
Playing God with the Planet: Engineering Our Way to Disaster
The Green Elephant in the Room: Solutions To Restoring the Health of People and the Living Planet
Manage episode 488367931 series 2801733
This episode explores geo-engineering - humanity's most audacious attempt to technologically control Earth's climate systems. From injecting sulfur particles into the stratosphere to mimic massive volcanic eruptions, to the mind-boggling proposal of moving Earth's entire orbit, these planetary-scale interventions represent our species' ultimate expression of technological overconfidence.
The episode examines two main approaches: solar radiation management (essentially giving the planet sunglasses by reflecting sunlight) and carbon dioxide removal (directly pulling greenhouse gases from the atmosphere). Both require staggering industrial scales - equivalent to one Mount Pinatubo eruption every few years, or thousands of massive facilities removing billions of tons of CO2 annually.
We argue that instead of gambling on unproven planetary interventions that could lock us into permanent technological dependence, we should focus on distributed, democratic solutions that work with natural systems rather than attempting to dominate them.
A CALL TO ACT: The World's Most Comprehensive Database of Eco-Solutions
Trumping Trump: Database of 200+ Organizations United in Blunting Trump.
112 episodes
All episodes
×Welcome to Player FM!
Player FM is scanning the web for high-quality podcasts for you to enjoy right now. It's the best podcast app and works on Android, iPhone, and the web. Signup to sync subscriptions across devices.