Is Geoengineering the Solution to Climate Change?

With growing concern throughout the global community regarding climate change and the future of the planet, many solutions to manage the Earth’s rising temperatures have been proposed. In your paper, make an argument for and against one specific geo-engineering solution for managing climate change. State what the solution is, how it would theoretically work, and how widespread of an impact would it create. Evaluate the time required to implement such a geo-engineering technology and the costs associated. Would it be too expensive or, would it come into place in time to avoid severe climatic disaster? Be sure to consider what the negative consequences of your chosen solution might be. Are there any current or historical examples of how this might impact the environment? Be sure that your chosen example is an active solution for removing carbon from the atmosphere or reflecting away heat, not a plan for reducing emissions. 

Sources for Paper Prompt

-    Geo-Engineering Solutions

•   Algae

-     https://qz.com/1718988/algae-might-be-a-secret-weapon-to-combatting-climate-change/

-     http://www.floridahealth.gov/environmental-health/aquatic-toxins/harmful-algae-blooms/index.html

•   Reforestation

-    https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/climate-change-reforestation/

-     https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3357704/

•   Solar Reflectance

-    Roofing - https://www.architectmagazine.com/technology/to-fight-climate-change-roofs-need-to-chill-out_o

-    Possible Consequences -  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/nov/26/geoengineering-could-offer-solution-last-resort-climate-change

-    Orbital Mirrors

•    https://www.livescience.com/22202-space-mirrors-global-warming.html

•    https://www.climatecentral.org/news/reducing-sunlight-by-geoengineering-will-not-cool-earth-16861

•   Carbon Capture -

-     https://phys.org/news/2019-10-carbon-capture-storage.html

-     https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2017/05/16/the-long-term-effects-of-carbon-capture-technology/#64b4d42b6473

•   Aerosol Injection

-    Volcanoes

•    https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/190805134010.htm

•    https://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2016/05/26/year-without-a-summer-1816-mount-tambora/84855694/ (this is a discussion of the "year without a summer")

-    Saltwater Cloud Whitening

•    https://www.washington.edu/news/2017/07/25/could-spraying-particles-into-marine-clouds-help-cool-the-planet/

•    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4240953/

•   Agriculture

-     https://farmland.org/project/farmers-combat-climate-change/

-     https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2019/05/07/what-about-gmos-that-fight-climate-change/#28c7f2ee3e1b

•   Overall Sources:

• this source is a scientific journal article which covers many possible geo-engineering solutions in depth) - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032113008460
• opposition:

  http://etcgroup.org/sites/www.etcgroup.org/files/files/etc_bbf_mar2018_us_v1_web.pdf

-    Moments of Human Error Damaging the Environment

•   Kissimmee River in Florida - https://www.sfwmd.gov/our-work/kissimmee-river

•   Mississippi Ri. Flooding in the Midwest - https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/31/us/midwest-floods-levees.html