How to handle an ever-warming Earth

New Yorker : In an extensive article for the New Yorker, Michael Specter ponders the question of geoengineering the planet to mitigate the effects of global warming. Two distinct schemes exist: reducing the impact of the Sun, or removing carbon from the atmosphere. The former is riskier, whether it involves such proposals as “seeding clouds, spreading giant mirrors in the desert, or injecting sulfates into the stratosphere.” The latter method is safer, but it is also more expensive and would require significant technological advances. And because the warming is a global problem, a number of questions arise, including, Who will do what? And what if the other countries don’t agree? The best solution, most scientists concur, would be to stop burning fossil fuels. Unfortunately, Specter writes, “that fact has been emphasized in virtually every study that addresses the potential effect of climate change on the earthâmdash;and there have been manyâmdash;but none have had a discernible impact on human behavior or government policy.”