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Science fiction may be the next step in the battle against climate change

Talk of climate change legislation has gone from frustrating to way out there as U.S. and foreign officials begin to discuss the possibility of geoengineering.

For those who are yet uninformed; geoengineering is a process that aims to directly manipulate the earth’s climate in order to reduce greenhouse gas omissions and counteract global warming. In other words, geoengineering would technically allow us to control the weather.

A year ago, most would have agreed that geoengineering is best suited for a sci-fi comic, but as climate legislation has continued to collapse, many are now looking towards geoengineering as an acceptable plan B.

“It’s important for the federal agencies to get involved and at least solicit proposals,” suggests Ralph J. Cicerone, president of National Academy of Sciences in the Washington Post.

While this so called “plan B” might seen like a step towards the future of climate change, in actuality it is a large step in the wrong direction. Research on geoengineering has already concluded that this will in no way address the root causes of climate change — the greenhouse gases from our cars, power plants and factories.

There’s the danger that by focusing on this new alternative, initiatives that push for more logical climate legislation are in danger of being lost. The British government has already allotted $4.5 million to geoengineering research.

Geoengineering is mostly a distraction from the real issues.  We need clear and concise climate legislation — without getting distracted by expensive science experiments. We simply cannot afford to lose ground in the fight against climate change.