Podcast: Can We Reengineer the Atmosphere? Should We?

It sounds like the stuff of science fiction, but altering the atmosphere is a solution that scientists are actively considering to address climate change. Manipulating Earth’s climate through geoengineering could take on many forms, explains Janos Pasztor ’78, SM ’79 in a recent episode of MIT Climate’s Today I Learned: Climate podcast, produced by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative.

In this 12-minute episode, Pasztor discusses two potential approaches to geoengineering: sucking existing carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, and modifying solar radiation to reduce the amount of heat that gets trapped in the atmosphere. These, and many other geoengineering techniques, have the potential to reduce global warming. But more research is needed, notes Pasztor, to see the other ways these techniques will affect the overall ecosystem of our planet. Listen to learn more. 

Pasztor is the executive director of the Carnegie Climate Geoengineering Governance Initiative (C2G2), which seeks to create effective governance for geoengineering. Previously, he was the UN assistant secretary-general for climate change.

Picture (top): Pixnio.