How to Cool the Planet: Geoengineering and the Audacious Quest to Fix

When Jeff Goodell first encountered the term 'geoengineering', he had a vague sense that it involved outlandish schemes to counteract global warming. As a journalist, he was deeply sceptical. But he was also intrigued. The planet was in trouble. Could geoengineers help? As Goodell shows in this book, even if we could muster the political will for it, cutting greenhouse gas emissions alone may not be enough to reduce the risk of climate catastrophe. This has led some scientists to pursue extreme solutions: huge contraptions that would suck carbon dioxide from the air, machines that would brighten clouds and deflect sunlight away from the earth, even artificial volcanoes that would spray heat-reflecting particles into the atmosphere. In How to Cool the Planet, Goodell explores the scientific, political, financial, and moral aspects of geoengineering. Thoroughly reported and convincingly argued, this is a compelling tale of scientific hubris and technical daring. But it is also a thoughtful, even-handed look at a deeply complex and controversial issue.