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The oceans are hotter than ever before. The ice caps are melting at an unprecedented rate. The rise in sea level threatens countless species, coastal towns and local economies.
As researchers warn of the consequences of climate change are becoming increasingly dramatic, some scientists and politicians suggest that we are doing more than just reducing our greenhouse gas emissions – they want to change our climate.
The technical term used is geoengineering.
The concept evokes fantastic images of weather control satellites, giant space mirrors and carbon sucking tubes. However, some techniques to change the Earth's atmosphere are not fantasy.
In fact, discussions about manipulating the atmosphere to cool the planet are becoming more commonplace. Climeworks, a company that captures carbon dioxide in the air, opened its first commercial plant in Switzerland in 2017. Y Combinator, the largest incubator in Silicon Valley, solicited proposals from young companies focused on on geoengineering. And some political candidates, including presidential candidate Andrew Yang, believe that the United States must beat other countries in the face of these technologies.
Read more:Longshot presidential candidate Andrew Yang thinks dishonest geo-engineering could provoke war
But other experts are not convinced that these global hacks are a good idea.
"The side effects can be almost as serious as the illness you are trying to cure," said Business Insider, author and environmental activist Bill McKibben. In addition, said McKibben, geoengineering in no way resolves other issues related to greenhouse gas emissions, such as ocean acidification.
Here are 11 potential geoengineering methods that have been proposed so far.
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