Geoengineering Archives - Page 2 of 5

Geoengineering

The Kolbert Report

Elizabeth Kolbert’s new book asks what it means to protect nature in the Anthropocene.

Elizabeth Kolbert’s new book, Under a White Sky, opens with the story of the battle to keep invasive Asian carp out of the Great Lakes. The problem exists because of two earlier interventions with nature. A century ago, we reversed the flow of the Chicago river to keep the city’s pollutants out of Lake Michigan …

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The U.S. Government Is Researching Solar Geoengineering. Now What?

An image of the U.S. Capitol Building in the evening.

Officials should use the tools on hand to get governance right.

In December, Congress renewed funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to investigate stratospheric aerosols as a potential method for “solar climate interventions,” expanding a research program established a year earlier. These actions have been widely interpreted as the first-ever federal research project into solar geoengineering—proposals to slightly “dim the sun” to limit …

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“NIABYs” Obstruct Important Climate Change Research

Some activists say “not in my backyard,” but strident opponents of solar geoengineering argue “not in anyone’s backyard.”

A peculiar type of activism is manifesting with regard to solar geoengineering. This proposed set of technologies to reduce climate change has been subject to only a few outdoor experiments. One has been in the pipeline for almost a decade: The Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment (SCoPEx) would involve the launch of a balloon into the …

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We Cannot Keep Global Warming within 1.5°C without Geoengineering

A new report from German green left groups heroically try do so, but fail

I emphasize the importance of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies and solar geoengineering research because keeping global warming within the internationally agreed-upon 2°C goal through reducing greenhouse gas emissions alone is extremely difficult, and limiting it to the 1.5°C aspirational target is now essentially impossible. All options to reduce climate change that are consistent with …

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The IPCC Misses the Mark on Solar Geoengineering

The Intergovernmental Panel Climate Change poorly portrays the “institutional and social constraints to deployment related to governance”

Not long ago, I re-read the top-level messages from the Intergovernmental Panel Climate Change (IPCC) on solar geoengineering’s governance issues. The Summary for Policymakers of most recent broad report, Global Warming of 1.5°C (SR1.5), says, in full: Solar radiation modification (SRM) [i.e. solar geoengineering] measures are not included in any of the available assessed pathways. …

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Geoengineering: Ready for its Close-up?

After long being marginalized in climate debates, geoengineering is experiencing a surge in attention — which carries both opportunities and risks.

If you’re a long-time Legal Planet reader, you may have noticed that I weigh in once a year or so to say that geoengineering – active engineered response to global climate change – is going to get prominent, and intensely contentious, soon. Geoengineering? Before continuing, we need a brief aside about names. Even what to …

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How Climate Disruption May Undermine Climate Policy

The long-term harms from climate change over the next decades may undermine support for efforts to reduce emissions

Almost two straight months of wildfires and smoke in California are a tangible sign of the impacts of climate change on our lives and our world. This article from the New York Times a couple of weeks ago does a good job of laying out why the wildfires in California are only one example of …

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Taking Technology Seriously in Global Environmental Politics

A special issue on new technologies is now available

I am proud to announce a special issue of Global Environmental Politics on new technologies, edited by Simon Nicholson of American University and me, is now available. We write in the introductory essay: Human beings are at once makers of and made by technology. The ability to wield tools was an essential ingredient in propelling an …

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Time to Get Serious about Climate Change and Oceans

Science can unlock powerful tools to fight climate change and ocean acidification, but only if we fund research and govern it well.

In the Before Time, I spoke with a few ocean scientists on climate issues, and I heard a common refrain. Climate change receives little attention or funding, considering the magnitude of the problem; climate impacts on oceans get even less; and marine carbon removal gets almost none at all. Humans are short-lived terrestrial creatures. …

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UCLA Law Faculty Weigh In on Solar Geoengineering Experiment at Harvard

How to engage the public when everyone on Earth is a stakeholder?

It’s been a surprisingly busy year for solar geoengineering research. In late December, Congress appropriated $4 million to NOAA to study the influence of atmospheric aerosols on climate, with an eye on assessing “solar climate interventions.” In March, Australian scientists ran a trial of a cloud-seeding technology on the Great Barrier Reef that may …

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Not Quite a “Windfall Tax”

SBX1-2 passes out of the California Senate… but won’t get Californians their money back.

A New Battleground in Big Oil’s War on Drilling Setbacks

Big Oil’s referendum on setbacks is the latest in a line of questionable signature-gathering campaigns. Would a new bill reform California’s referendum process?

Do Climate Change Cases Belong in Federal Court? The Biden Administration Weighs In.

In a very narrowly argued brief, the Administration calls for returning the cases to state court.

The IPCC Should Just Say 1.5 C is Dead

The big takeaway from the IPCC’s latest report is that we’re still falling behind and must do hard things to catch up. It’s time to communicate that differently.

Cleanup On Aisle NIMBY!!

The California Legislature’s new duplex bill shows that lawmakers have had it with resistance to housing.

How Should We Implement the New Federal Climate Laws?

An upcoming symposium by the Emmett Institute will explore the key climate impacts of IIJA and the IRA and unpack some of the obstacles and controversies around their implementation.

Lobster Wars

An industry lawsuit against Monterey Aquarium is a blatant assault on free speech.

Critical Native American Water Rights Cases Come Before the Supreme Court: Arizona v. Navajo Nation

The Navajo Nation Has the Equities on Its Side, But the U.S. Department of the Interior May Well Have the Law in Its Favor

Stakeholder Engagement in California Offshore Wind Development

State leaders have an opportunity to forge a national example on stakeholder engagement and energy justice.

How Garden-Variety Air Pollution Regulation Promotes Environmental Justice

Cleaning up our nation’s air benefits the disadvantaged most of all.

A New Battleground in Big Oil’s War on Drilling Setbacks

Big Oil’s referendum on setbacks is the latest in a line of questionable signature-gathering campaigns. Would a new bill reform California’s referendum process?

Did Biden have to approve the Willow oil project?

ConocoPhillips has existing lease rights. But the Biden administration had tools to curtail those rights to limit harms.

Not Quite a “Windfall Tax”

SBX1-2 passes out of the California Senate… but won’t get Californians their money back.

Should There Be a ‘Non-Use’ Agreement on Solar Geoengineering?

Why I signed the call for a non-use agreement, and what that might mean for research.

Deregulation, Normal Accidents, and the Airborne Toxic Event

What can we learn from the East Palestine train wreck?

Good News from the Land of 10,000 Lakes

Earlier this month, Minnesota adopted a bold new clean energy plan.

How Do You Solve A Problem Like A Lawless Judge?

Some counsel for the Justice Department from The Great One.

CEQA and UC Berkeley Housing: Don’t Panic

The decision blocking student housing hardly represents new NIMBY weaponization.

Why the Bay Area’s Zero-Emission Appliance Rule is a Big Deal

BAAQMD’s trailblazing rule will ban the sale of new gas furnaces and water heaters to combat nitrogen oxide pollution. It marks a big victory for public health and the planet.

Geoengineering

Elizabeth Kolbert’s new book asks what it means to protect nature in the Anthropocene.

Officials should use the tools on hand to get governance right.

Some activists say “not in my backyard,” but strident opponents of solar geoengineering argue “not in anyone’s backyard.”

A new report from German green left groups heroically try do so, but fail

The Intergovernmental Panel Climate Change poorly portrays the “institutional and social constraints to deployment related to governance”

After long being marginalized in climate debates, geoengineering is experiencing a surge in attention — which carries both opportunities and risks.

The long-term harms from climate change over the next decades may undermine support for efforts to reduce emissions

A special issue on new technologies is now available

Science can unlock powerful tools to fight climate change and ocean acidification, but only if we fund research and govern it well.

How to engage the public when everyone on Earth is a stakeholder?

TRENDING

SBX1-2 passes out of the California Senate… but won’t get Californians their money back.

Big Oil’s referendum on setbacks is the latest in a line of questionable signature-gathering campaigns. Would a new bill reform California’s referendum process?

In a very narrowly argued brief, the Administration calls for returning the cases to state court.

The big takeaway from the IPCC’s latest report is that we’re still falling behind and must do hard things to catch up. It’s time to communicate that differently.

The California Legislature’s new duplex bill shows that lawmakers have had it with resistance to housing.

An upcoming symposium by the Emmett Institute will explore the key climate impacts of IIJA and the IRA and unpack some of the obstacles and controversies around their implementation.

An industry lawsuit against Monterey Aquarium is a blatant assault on free speech.

The Navajo Nation Has the Equities on Its Side, But the U.S. Department of the Interior May Well Have the Law in Its Favor

State leaders have an opportunity to forge a national example on stakeholder engagement and energy justice.

Cleaning up our nation’s air benefits the disadvantaged most of all.

Big Oil’s referendum on setbacks is the latest in a line of questionable signature-gathering campaigns. Would a new bill reform California’s referendum process?

ConocoPhillips has existing lease rights. But the Biden administration had tools to curtail those rights to limit harms.

SBX1-2 passes out of the California Senate… but won’t get Californians their money back.

Why I signed the call for a non-use agreement, and what that might mean for research.

What can we learn from the East Palestine train wreck?

Earlier this month, Minnesota adopted a bold new clean energy plan.

Some counsel for the Justice Department from The Great One.

The decision blocking student housing hardly represents new NIMBY weaponization.

BAAQMD’s trailblazing rule will ban the sale of new gas furnaces and water heaters to combat nitrogen oxide pollution. It marks a big victory for public health and the planet.

The Congressional Review Act remains bad for policy and worse for democratic deliberation.