Recall that Victor Frankenstein tried to tinker with nature. Let’s just say it didn’t go well, and he regretted it for the rest of his life. Today, a new group of scientists has announced their own plans to tinker with nature, and it’s yet to be seen whether their efforts will be beneficial or if there will be unintended consequences that all of us will regret.
Environmentalists regularly lecture the rest of us on the need to avoid doing things that could damage the earth’s delicate environmental balance. So it is more than a little strange that several scientists are planning to do exactly that.
The Wall Street Journal reports, “Dumping chemicals in the ocean? Spraying saltwater into clouds? Injecting reflective particles into the sky? Scientists are resorting to once unthinkable techniques to cool the planet because global efforts to check greenhouse gas emissions are failing.”
What’s behind these scientists doing the “unthinkable”?
“These geoengineering approaches were once considered taboo by scientists and regulators who feared that tinkering with the environment could have unintended consequences, but now researchers are receiving taxpayer funds and private investments to get out of the lab and test these methods outdoors.”
And there you have the answer: money. And not just private money, but taxpayer funds.
One scheme takes place near Australia, where scientists will spray “a briny mixture through high-pressure nozzles into the air” in the hope of brightening clouds so they will reflect more of the sun. A university got $64.5 million for that experiment.
Another private group has raised $15 million to release “tiny reflective particles about 60,000 feet in altitude, reflecting sunlight away from Earth …”
In a third scheme, a research group plans “to pour 6,000 gallons of a liquid solution of sodium hydroxide, a component of lye, into the ocean 10 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard this summer.” This “ocean alkalinity enhancement” is receiving $10 million from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Hey, pouring 6,000 gallons of sodium hydroxide in the ocean, what could go wrong?
To be clear, IPI is not opposed to innovative solutions to address real, and even perceived, environmental problems. And no doubt these researchers believe their actions could benefit mankind. So did Frankenstein.
The problem here is hypocrisy. We as individuals are constantly warned that we shouldn’t be putting foreign substances in the air or water because it could damage the ecosystem, over time if not immediately.
But the scientists who would scold the rest of us apparently don’t mind doing exactly that—if the actions are backed by millions of dollars in funding.
February 20, 2024