Renewable energy safe 'known' compared to geoengineering 'unknown'

Donald Rumsfeld wasn’t talking about climate change when he referred to “known knowns” or “unknown unknowns”, but he could have been.

The former U.S. Secretary of Defence was confusing and distracting listeners when talking about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

He said in 2002 “There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know.”

The conversation around climate change is equally confusing and achieves “lift-off” when it wanders into geoengineering, a dynamic loaded with “known knowns” and “unknown unknowns”.

Climate Spectator has bravely ventured into this risky space with its story: “Renewables still better than 'risky' geoengineering” pointing out that the known realities of renewable energy and vastly better than the “unknown unknowns” of geoengineering.