Leading Climate Scientists Say Paris Conference Failed, Call for Geoengineering

By Derrick Broze

A number of the world’s leading climate scientists are showing their true colors by advocating the use of a dangerous technology as the solution to environmental degradation and climate change.

The Paris Climate Conference and subsequent Paris Agreement was an absolute failure. Not only was the entire premise flawed from the beginning, but the entire conference was a facade attempting to hide the influence of corporations on governmental policies. The Paris Agreement itself was another black eye to indigenous communities who attempted to have their voices heard, only to be drowned out by corporate colonization. Outside of the conference was not much better, with Paris resembling a police state stripping away free speech rights from protesters.

Now that the people of the world are beginning to realize the conference was a sham we are seeing a larger agenda unfold. The Paris agreement called on the leaders of 195 countries to make efforts to keep global warming between 1.5C to 2C and to cut carbon emissions. But a growing group of scientists are warning the agreement does not go far enough and are now calling on the world to embrace the science of geoengineering.

According to a 2013 congressional report:

The term ‘geoengineering’ describes this array of technologies that aim, through large-scale and deliberate modifications of the Earth’s energy balance, to reduce temperatures and counteract anthropogenic climate change. Most of these technologies are at the conceptual and research stages, and their effectiveness at reducing global temperatures has yet to be proven. Moreover, very few studies have been published that document the cost, environmental effects, socio-political impacts, and legal implications of geoengineering. If geoengineering technologies were to be deployed, they are expected to have the potential to cause significant transboundary effects.

In general, geoengineering technologies are categorized as either a carbon dioxide removal (CDR) method or a solar radiation management (SRM) method. CDR methods address the warming effects of greenhouse gases by removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. CDR methods include ocean fertilization, and carbon capture and sequestration. SRM methods address climate change by increasing the reflectivity of the Earth’s atmosphere or surface.

Aerosol injection and space-based reflectors are examples of SRM methods. SRM methods do not remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, but can be deployed faster with relatively immediate global cooling results compared to CDR methods.

In a joint letter to The Independent several of the world’s leading climate scientists state that the Paris agreement offers “false hope” and will not prevent further harm to the Earth. The Independent reports:

The letter, which carries eleven signatures including professors Peter Wadhams and Stephen Salter, of the universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh, warns that the Paris Agreement is dangerously inadequate.

Because of the Paris failure, the academics say the world’s only chance of saving itself from rampant global warming is a giant push into controversial and largely untested geo-engineering technologies that seek to cool the planet by manipulating the Earth’s climate system.

The scientists argue the people of the world are not interested in real changes but only agreements “that would save the world while leaving lifestyles and aspirations unchanged.” Peter Wadhams, professor of ocean physics at the University of Cambridge and a signatory of the letter, told The Independent that geoengineering is becoming necessary to save the planet.

“Other things being equal I’m not a great fan of geo-engineering but I think it absolutely necessary given the situation we’re in. It’s a sticking plaster solution. But you need it because looking at the world, nobody’s instantly changing their pattern of life,” Prof Wadhams said.

Eleven climate scientists signed the letter. They write:

Our backs are against the wall and we must now start the process of preparing for geo-engineering. We must do this in the knowledge that its chances of success are small and the risks of implementation are great.

Indeed the risks are great. At least one previous study has found that geoengineering could cause the white haze and loss of blue skies that Long is observing. According to a report by the New Scientist, Ben Kravitz of the Carnegie Institution for Science has shown that releasing sulphate aerosols high in the atmosphere would scatter sunlight into the atmosphere. He says this could decrease the amount of sunlight that hits the ground by 20%, as well as make the sky appear more hazy.

Ironically, the promotion of geoengineering might actually cause more harm than good, including an increase in droughts. In February 2015, an international committee of scientists released a report stating that geoengineering techniques are not a viable alternative to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to combat the effects of climate change. The committee report called for further research and understanding of various geoengineering techniques, including carbon dioxide removal schemes and solar-radiation management before implementation.

The scientists found that Solar Radiation Management, or albedo-modification techniques, are likely to present “serious known and possible unknown environmental, social, and political risks, including the possibility of being deployed unilaterally.” The report was sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. intelligence community, NASA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the U.S. Department of Energy.

According to a 2013 study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, if geoengineering programs were started and then suddenly halted, the planet could see an immediate rise in temperatures, particularly over land. The study, titled, “The Impact of Abrupt Suspension of Solar Radiation Management,” seems to indicate that once geoengineering begins, the programs cannot be suspended without causing the very problem the engineering was intended to solve.

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Even with these dangers well known, the letter from the climate scientists still calls for geoengineering.

We must look at the full spectrum of geoengineering. This will cover initiatives that increase carbon sequestration by restoration of rain forests to the seeding of oceans. It will extend to solar radiation management techniques such as artificially whitening clouds and, in extremis, replicating the aerosols from volcanic activity. It will have to look at what areas that we selectively target, such as the methane emitting regions of the Arctic and which areas we avoid.

Dan Farber, professor of law at Berkeley University, also recently suggested the only way the world can hope to achieve the conference’s goal of holding the global temperature decrease “well below” 2°C would be to implement geoengineering programs “such as injecting aerosols into the stratosphere or solar mirrors.”

“I’m not particularly a fan of geoengineering, and I will be happy to be wrong about this,” Farber wrote. “Otherwise, though, if we are serious about those temperature targets, we may end up with little other choice than layering some geoengineering efforts on top of aggressive emission cuts.”

The dangers associated with geoengineering are not the only controversy. There also exists questions over whether geoengineering programs are already active. This is what is derogatorily called the “Chemtrails Conspiracy.” Essentially, some believe geoengineering is actively taking place in our skies, and the “contrails” are actually geoengineering programs covertly being carried out. The “chemtrails” label comes from the portion of the crowd that believes these programs are delivering dangerous chemical additives to the food, water, soil, and humans below for nefarious purposes.

Regardless of where you stand, it’s important to know the United States government has a history of weather modification. In a 1996 document entitled “Weather as a Force Multiplier: Owning the Weather by 2025,” the U.S. Air Force discussed a number of proposals for using weather as a weapon. The Environmental Modification Treaty was signed by the United States and other nations to halt global weather modification.

But the government did not simply research these ideas. It actually implemented them — prior to its official musings on whether it could. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. government operated covert weather modification programs under Operation Popeye. The government does not only experiment with technology in foreign countries; it likes to try it at home, as well. In 2012, it was revealed that the U.S. Army sprayed toxic chemicals over the skies of St. Louis without informing the public.

Anti-Media also recently reported on Professor Alan Robock’s theory that the Central Intelligence Agency is using the weather as a weapon of war.

So are geoengineering programs already active? If they are active, the current calls for geoengineering the climate might be an attempt at quietly revealing the existence of such programs under the auspices of fighting climate change. If the programs are not active the science of geoengineering still represents a dangerous, unpredictable technology.

Derrick Broze is an investigative journalist, community activist, gardener and promoter from Houston, Texas. He is the co-founder of The Houston Free Thinkers, and co-host of Free Thinker Radio. Broze also hosts and produces a weekly podcast under the name the Conscious Resistance Live. His writing can be found on his website TheConsciousResistance.com, Activist Post, and other independent media sources.

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