Geoengineering - once you start, you can't stop

Many believe the world's climate
 change issues is this simple.

Many of the world's nations show few signs of cutting their greenhouse gas emissions anytime soon. That's why, in recent years, more and more climate scientists have been pondering the concept of "geoengineering" as a way to slow the pace of global warming.

One popular idea involves spraying reflective particles into the atmosphere to deflect a small portion of Earth's sunlight. Harvard scientist David Keith discussed the pros and cons of the idea at length in a recent interview.

Pros: It's cheap, easy, and could likely avert some of the worst impacts of global warming, like sea-level rise. Cons: It could have lots of unpredictable side effects, like mucking up global rainfall patterns. It's difficult to coordinate. And geoengineering does nothing to address other severe climate impacts, like ocean acidification.

Read The Washington Post story by Brad Plumer - “One problem with geoengineering: Once you start, you can’t really stop.”