Column – Tinkering with the Ecosphere is a Risky Proposition

By Bart King In the mid 1990s the Australian government removed feral cats from Macqaurie Island to protect native seabirds nesting at the World Heritage site. Sounds like a good idea, right? But the cats weren’t just killing birds. They were killing rabbits, too. The rabbits–like the cats–are an invasive species on the island. Over the next ten years their numbers exploded, devouring the fragile vegetation upon which the birds rely for cover. The Parks and Wildlife Service found itself with an estimated $16 million in damages, and the birds were no better off. This episode demonstrates the risks involved when we tinker with the earth’s ecosystems. Nonetheless, researchers and politicians are beginning to consider more seriously the idea of tinkering on a grand scale in an effort to reduce the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. It’s called geoengineering. Proposals range from fertilizing the ocean with nutrients to stimulate the absorption of carbon dioxide, to blasting reflective sulfur aerosols into the stratosphere, to shading the earth from outer space with the equivalent of a big umbrella. If you think these theorized solutions sound more like the schemes of an evil mastermind than the rational work of science, you […]

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