Can We Hack the Planet to Stave Off Climate Change?

I’ve often wondered this myself: In the doom-and-gloom news cycle of climate change and environmental catastrophe, the continuing refrain always seems to be that, for all intents and purposes, we’re too late to correct our course through simple behavior modification. I don’t say this to be alarmist, but rather to be practical. If changing our lightbulbs and driving better cars isn’t going to fix this problem, we need to be thinking of different solutions.

Fortunately, it seems like some scientists are. How practical their thinking is is a matter of debate, but in terms of creativity and excitement, they’re hitting it out of the park. To wit: How about placing giant mirrors in orbit between the earth and the sun to reflect some of the energy? OK, that’s on the expensive/outlandish end of the spectrum. But relative to the potential cost of unchecked climate change, it’s probably a small amount. Read about more solutions in the full New Scientist article.

This reminds me of the failed plans to wrap a Swiss glacier in insulating foam.

Photo by Flickr user db™.