Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 07/2008

Resetting Earth's Thermostat

Samuel Thernstrom

June 2008

American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research

Abstract

In this article, Samuel Thernstrom, codirector of AEI's geoengineering project, notes that policymakers generally discuss two different ways to address global warming: cutting emissions and adaptation--that is, learning to live with a warmer planet. But there is another way to cool the planet, he says, "that could be fast, effective, and affordable." This strategy is geoengineering, and in this article, Thernstrom explains how it would work and why it is being ignored. In the race to respond to climate change, he says, it is time to invest in this alternative solution.