Geoengineering involves the artificial manipulation of the Earth's climate in order to mitigate the negative effects of increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Two major categories of geoengineering have been proposed and discussed: Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) and Solar Radiation Management (SRM). The use of SRM strategies is considered highly controversial, because the amount and extent of effects is currently unknown, and it is difficult to accurately research without actually deploying the techniques. Also, many feel that these projects only address the outcomes, and not the root causes of climate change. This website goes more in depth to this controversy, providing more information on the background, the debates, the actors and the literature involved.
Illustration of the many aspects involved in climate
This diagram helps to illustrate the many aspects of the environment that have an influence over climate. It includes the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere and human influences.
Illustration of different geoengineering strategies
Some of the major geoengineering strategies that have currently been proposed.
A comparison of various proposed geoengineering solutions
This illustration compares the proposed geoengineering strategies in terms of safety and effectiveness. The projects in the top right corner are the ones which are assumed to be the safest, as well as the most effective. Affordability and time scale of the projects are denoted by the circle diameter and color, respectively. One of the projects that is currently being highly regarded, stratospheric aerosols, is thought to be highly effective, not very safe, moderately affordable and able to be done on a relatively fast time scale.