Position Paper 2016

Climate change seems inevitable. It transforms life on the earth. If we don't act now, climate change will rapidly alter the planet as we know it. Some of the most dangerous consequences of climate change include: higher temperatures, more heat-related illness and diseases, loss of human lives and wild-life extinction risks, changing landscape, seasonal shifting, increased risk of forest fires, floods and drought, loss to economies, rising sea levels, stronger storms and ever increasing storm damage, etc. And meanwhile, our basic needs such as fresh air, pure water, healthy food and safe places to live are rapidly becoming distant realities. Believe it or not, the global warming is on rise mainly because our efforts to reduce emissions are insufficient. It is important that by the year 2050 we cut the global greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% of 1990 levels and stop the temperature from exceeding 2°C this century (cf.: Parties to the UNFCCC) due to anthropogenic activities. There are policy makers or governments and scientists who believe that additional actions may be required should it become necessary to cool the planet and such actions might involve geoengineering.

Geoengineering is defined as the deliberate large-scale manipulation of an environmental process that affects the earth's climate, in an attempt to counteract the effects of global warming. Though there is no foolproof method of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, geoengineering methods could however be further researched and explored for their potential applications. Sceptics (including me) doubt the ethical and technical viability of geoengineering, mostly due to uncertainties pertinent to its governance, its scientific temper, the possibility of blind obedience of the "order followers,” by which total tyranny that may prevail, etc. While we try forming such climate engineering or technologies, it is essential that we get wider public approval and we keep in mind the cost, effectiveness, and also the ecological and environmental impacts thereof. It is generally said that the geoengineering is not meant for ecological engineering and weather modification, but there is no demarcation made as such and therefore the ethics, scientific temper, intent and scale are of paramount importance. Some of the key characteristics of geoengineering methodologies are that they affect atmosphere, land and oceans regionally and may have substantive unintended effects on the biosphere: human and the global ecosystems (not just local).

In June 2011, during the Expert Meeting of the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on geoengineering at Lima (Peru), an attempt was made to provide a set of common definitions for the most important terms related to geoengineering. And, I have learnt these definitions and terms and tried to reflect on. I recall you that geoengineering method and technologies refer to deliberately altering the climate system in order to alleviate the impacts of climate change. This involves (i) Solar Radiation Management (SRM) techniques which reflect a small percentage of the sun’s heat and light back into space; (ii) Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) techniques which remove CO2 from the atmosphere. CDR techniques address the root cause of climate change by removing the greenhouse gas from the atmosphere and the SRM techniques attempt to offset effects of increased greenhouse gases’ concentrations by causing the earth to absorb less solar radiations. Both the CDR and SRM techniques have the ultimate goal of reducing temperature, but there are major differences in the modes of action of these techniques, the timescales over which they are effective, temperature effects and other consequences, etc.

Scientists and policy makers seek for low risk geoengineering options that can reduce the rate of the planet warming. These include appropriate observations, the research and development for designing resilient climate models and using them by careful planning and representative experimentations before the actual use on bigger scales. Many proposals for geoengineering methods seem to have potential temperature effects, but it is wise if they are thoroughly researched for other consequences or unknown threats to biosphere or life support systems on the planet.

The history of geoengineering can be traced back to the 1960s when the United States of America (USA) called for research on “possibilities to deliberately bringing about countervailing climatic changes” to that of carbon dioxide (Marchetti, 1977). Marchetti described the idea of injecting CO2 into the ocean to reduce the atmospheric burden of this greenhouse gas. Since then, the concept of geoengineering in various contexts have been kept evolving. Paul J. Crutzen – the year 1995 Nobel laureate for pioneering work on atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozone offered grudging support for geoengineering. Since we’re living in the “anthropocene” era when humans are increasingly affecting the climate, Crutzen suggested, our future “may well involve internationally accepted, large-scale geoengineering projects.” Paul Crutzen returned to the debate in August 2006 by writing an “editorial essay” in the journal Climatic Change and called for active research into the use of “sub-micrometer”- sized sulfate-based aerosols to reflect sunlight into the stratosphere in order to bring the planet temperature down. He had also proposed the use of high-altitude balloons and artillery cannons for blasting sulphur dioxide (SO2) into the stratosphere, in effect, simulating a volcanic eruption. He said, “The sulphur dioxide would convert to sulfate particles.” Crutzen noted that his cost estimates did not include the human cost of premature deaths from particulate pollution. Such tiny reflective particles could be resident in the air for about two years. Crutzen warned that his was a risky proposition and stated that it should be undertaken only if all else fails. He went on to add that the political will to do anything else seemed to have failed already. The Royal Society in UK conducted several important assessments thereafter (2009) at the national level.

We value all the thought provoking processes and also the discussions of geoengineering in academia, research and or in public contexts, but sometimes with its rather confusing implications. There are serious issues which we need to always be discussing with regards to the policy making and scientific aspects of geoengineering for the good of people and also for the planet. And, questions must be asked: whether geoengineering is an acceptable method for moderating climate change and whether geoengineering has really become the only option available? It would be highly unpleasant if the geoengineering methods are deployed without appropriate governance in place and without the public approval. I like to say that if we are to make ourselves knowledge rich, the public engagement and the communication of science to the general public is very important. In most cases, the public is interested in knowing just the practical benefits of science, and how & what it is (in science) their taxes are supporting. It is the moral obligation of scientists, teachers and communicators to build up support for research, and make research as a part of human endeavour and the culture. We human start off as researchers. When we are kids, we inquire and find ourselves happy to learn. As time goes by, we lose this habit and seem to care less about the importance of research in our lives.

The message on this position paper could not be any clearer. This is a sincere effort to sound the alarm on the critical climate engineering issues. I do not understand why many people just do not get what is happening in front of them until it is pointed out to them. There are some undeniable geoengineering atrocities around the planet. Psychologists proved that those who challenge the establishment are doomed and defamed to be sane. And, why am I saying so? Because I observe that there are activities underway to untie the earth's life support systems in the name of geoengineering methods to mitigate climate change. A total climate control is underway and is being inflicted on our once thriving planet and worse thing is that such man-made assault on the planet is becoming exceptionally fast and blatant. Sometimes it is felt that in the name of the ongoing moderation of climate change, the authorities are subjecting people at the risk of unimaginable implications of rather immature geoengineering options.

We will have to protect ourselves from the issues arising from the ozone layer depletion, methane release (for example, in the Arctic), and other weather-markers that are wreaking havoc on the planet. And here it is found that the geoengineering alters the temperature and also contaminate the biosphere simultaneously. I hope that there will be increasing support to the research and analysis of geoengineering methods and their applications, and at the same time there will be the awakening aspect and or mass awareness very soon about the relentless spraying (e.g. in Phoenix, Arizona, USA) that is happening in the name of controlling climate change and in the name of controlling the temperature, albeit there was day-time temperature higher than the average recorded temperatures in February this year. Often such spraying provides heat and increases the strength of the high pressure and during such spraying, the UV radiation readings are actually going up, not down. In addition to that, the local residents are suffering from some sort of allergies and they feel more like they are being poisoned due the geoengineering option of spraying residential areas. Representatives from the Rhode Island State are courageous enough to show morality that has been prohibiting geoengineering side-effects that are presumably decimating biosphere and the human health. Reports came in where few groups of very dedicated citizens and activists have been instrumental in the continuing effort to push Anti-Geoengineering Legislation H 7578 forward and thereby expose and ban the climate engineering atrocities. But most of the citizens are just ignoring what is happening around them and what is happening to them. I do not live in that part of the planet and so I am not sure what is more disturbing…the spraying or people's reaction to it.

It is the moral obligation of researchers and vigilant citizens to keep supplying informational materials to the people, researchers, industrialists, and policy makers and try to communicate among each other the much needed real solutions to the problems of global warming and the geoengineering options. And, as they say, there is no doubt that today’s “need” can become tomorrow’s “invention.” And, it must also be kept in mind that we need human race alive to do that and risking human health due to present-day irresponsible implementation of geoengineering methods must therefore be checked and if required halted immediately.

There are people in academia who are all providing their skills to the so-called industrialists and the power structure for the purpose of undertaking studies for the specific purpose of selling geoengineering to an unsuspecting population. The authors of such studies should be challenged to justify their behaviour. We must all work together toward salvaging a planet that will continue to support life. We must also do everything we can to expose and halt global geoengineering that is causing (anthropogenic) forms of damage to our skies, air, soil, waters and overall environmental and ecological balance. There shall soon be reports coming on geoengineering programs showing mathematically how they are decimating. What we may face in near future is a risk of extinction due to our own actions. It is therefore essential to stop the stratospheric aerosol injection dispersed from aircrafts as well as by other ground sources for disbursement of deadly elements or chemicals. We wish to keep breathing toxin free; don’t we?

I advocate STEMS (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Sustainability) or STEM for Sustainability. I am also a proud supporter of green chemistry researches, especially the renewable energy projects. And, I am glad to tell you that most of us live in a community where everyone is super aware of carbon footprints, environmentally benign technologies, efficiency upgrades, etc. But when I hear of crisscrossing of geoengineered chem trails, then everything becomes sort of self-contradictory. Not only these acts are outrageous sources of intentional toxicity on offer, but considering the enormous amount of polluting jet fuel used and wasted are also expensive, this sounds clearly self-contradictory to our pledge to climate mitigation. This is something that the relevant country or state’s environmental community should address. Is this happening only because of the blind obedience of the "order followers?" May be, the ongoing geoengineering is about control, power and an insufficient attempt to mask the damage already done to our climate system while inflicting more destruction to climate and biosphere in the process rather than controlling the global warming. Some agencies or countries are staging terror attacks to defame a particular religion and to utilize these attacks for impacting the mindset of the mass population and for propagating their power-greedy agenda of ruling people by dividing them. Similarly, the power structure may be considering geoengineering as easy as the militarization of strategically important locations. Or is there any bigger threat which the authorities are keeping us unaware of, and they are poisoning few in order to save many of us from calamities of this climate change? Honestly, I do not know.

What I am saying here is no new thing because there were news items published in "Popular Science" in June 1958 (USA) about the global climate manipulation and weather warfare. Dr. Joseph Kaplan, chairman of the International Geophysical Year once said: "Control of earth's weather and temperature is within the realm of practicability now." We must do all that we can do to raise the alarm on this critical issue of geoengineering unless it is for the good of the planet.

Figure | Chemtrails?

All available evidence show solar radiation management (SRM) programs were first deployed at a significant scale in the mid 1940's over the earth’s poles. The studies indicated temperature graph showing the initial cooling effects of the atmospheric aerosol spraying. Off late, the USA president (in 2015) rallied world leaders to move forward with a global response to climate change, a less discussed, but ongoing effort has long since been underway to attempt the SRM through the spraying of light scattering aerosols into the atmosphere and the direct manipulation of weather patterns. Climate change panel warned that geoengineering may be humanity’s last hope. Please recall: geoengineering is the science term applied to processes of climate intervention for the primary stated purpose of temporarily slowing a runaway greenhouse scenario on the planet. But, the there are people who believe that “the risks of experimentation on such technology could actually worsen the problem and lead to massive experimentation that may aggravate climate change even more and cause irreparable damage to the environment.” The ethical and scientific basis of geoengineering must be recognized, but at the same time, we will have to expose the bad effects, if any.

My friends from USA are convinced that they are experiencing some side-effects of the geoengineering options. Some suspicious allergies and diseases are popping-up. Heavy particle saturation in precipitation can be noted by observing droplet size. Very rapid uniform raindrops (which can be observed in puddles and on windshields) are indicative of the condensation nuclei being dictated by the sprayed particles in the rain. Lab tests have confirmed that this type of precipitation does in fact contain the highest concentration of the heavy metals (such as aluminum and barium) contained in geoengineering patents. The SRM is meant for blocking the sun. The atmospheric river of moisture streaming off of the record warm Pacific ocean is heavily aerosolized which keeps much of the moisture from falling and broadcasts it out into massive regions of rainless (and toxic) cloud cover expanding out over the Western USA. They also believe that the geoengineering has created the all-time snow record for Boston. The pattern remains as such that the West bakes and the East freezes in the USA. These engineered cool-down could be catastrophic.

Many claims have been made about the true agenda of the Paris Climate Conference (November – December 2015) and one such extreme claim is that the major global powers are actually trying to force a legally binding carbon reduction treaty. On the contrary, most of the developed countries themselves seemed happy with the pollution on (purchase) permit. There were attempts made to legalize the global geoengineering. But engineered short term cool-downs at the cost of a worsened overall warming and a completely poisoned planet is not acceptable and this shall always be kept on the back of our minds while tackling global warming as a problem.

I am not blaming any one country here but we know for years that the global power structure is inciting wars in strategically important regions and they are doing this to gain profits by selling weapons and causing agitations among the politically and democratically vulnerable places. The conspiracy theorists believe that the states of emergency are being generated and being used as a way to shut the people up and control them by fear. Similarly, one can say that if the so-called geo- or climate engineering is committed to the model of planetary decimation in the attempt to maintain their power until there is nothing left of the biosphere; then this is condemnable. And, hence the past and future climate conferences and global agreements should do more to slow down the pollution and pillage of the planet. And, yet very few from the public and research community are interested in geoengineering information and the one who is talking about it is merely considered as an activist. The planet is heating up but astoundingly, the larger section of the society is in total denial of the completely verifiable and rapid warming of our biosphere. It is very hard to believe for them that the planet’s overall energy balance and equilibrium has been altered due to anthropogenic activities / industrialization and in recent cases due to geoengineering. Why has it become impossible to believe that the human race has decimated the planet in countless ways, and geoengineering is the epitome of the insanity and destruction?

I shall summarize the fact that there are two primary opposing factors which are the most critical in regard to our rapidly changing biosphere conditions: atmospheric aerosols and greenhouse gases. At face value, these two factors occupy opposite ends of the spectrum. Atmospheric aerosols have historically had an overall cooling effect while the rapid building up of greenhouse gases (primarily CO2 and CH4) has forced the climate to warm. The spraying of reflective aerosols from jet aircraft for SRM programs in a highly destructive and highly toxic attempt to mitigate global warming has been going on (at some places) without public consent; and this must be checked. If something bad happens to the planet earth, say for example, due to the earth getting hit by large asteroid / planetoid, solar flares, magnetic or gravitations waves, etc then this will be unfortunate and we will have no burden of responsibility for. But, if something goes wrong with the energy balance and overall equilibrium in the ecosystems due to geoengineering atrocities, then who will take the responsibility? We should encourage research and analysis of climate engineering and or geoengineering options keeping in view the conservation of the planet and its life support system.

When environmental history is written, our era could be seen as the dawn of global warming and the disaster for the planet due to heavy industrialization and pollution. Sustainable development is a very resilient model of growth; one that can adapt to changes in planet. It is the moral obligation of our generation to bring about more interdisciplinary and integrative approaches and engage socially and scientifically diverse researchers in a range of issues to invent long-term settings intended to develop mechanisms for quality of life and living. Let us care about the climate, the biosphere and the entrepreneurial sustainable development, and get on with some more mature conversations with the public and policy makers about how we can sustain the planet better.

For centuries, poets, philosophers and scientists have fallen in love of the Nature here. The planet earth casts its magical spell on anyone who sees it with a keen eye: including the beauty, various scientific principles herein and the life this planet supports. We know that the efforts are underway to look for water and life on near and distant planets. We may also have no difficulty in envisaging a human colony on nearby planet at some time in future. But, I must say of this home planet that: “You may have (all) the universe if I may have the planet called Earth."

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Isak R. Shaikh* “Geoengineering - The Planet Salvage Operation?," PIC-STEMS (Proceedings of the Indian Conference on Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics & Sustainability), ISBN: 978-81-931126-9-4, Vol. 1, 2016, Article Sr. No. 2, pages 11 to 18.