We have a historically unprecedented climate emergency. The planet is now heating so fast that the Paris-agreed ceiling of 1.5°C global mean temperature is liable to be reached next year and 2°C within a decade or two. This rapid heating will be boosted by Arctic meltdown: with less sunshine reflected by snow and ice, and with the release of the potent greenhouse gas, methane, from thawing permafrost. Arctic meltdown also affects the jet stream: we can expect the double-whammy of increased global heating and stuck jet stream patterns to produce ever more extreme heatwaves, droughts and wildfires. The climate crisis is indeed spiralling “out of control” (the Guardian headline on 6th October). Our only chance of seizing control, before catastrophe becomes inevitable, is through rapid, emergency cooling intervention. We owe it to the young people of today that we grasp the nettle and prepare for solar geoengineering: injecting sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere to mimic the cooling action of major volcanic eruptions. Experimental injection could even start next year: injection anywhere between 45N and 65N would safely limit the lifetime of the aerosol produced to a few months according to climate models. The risks from rapid full-scale intervention could prove tiny in comparison with the risk of leaving intervention too late to prevent catastrophic climate change for much of the world. To boot, a variety of appropriate interventions, together with a drastic cut in greenhouse gas emissions, could restore the planet to a safe, sustainable, biodiverse and productive state within the lifetimes of our young people.

We have a historically unprecedented climate emergency. The planet is now heating so fast that the Paris-agreed ceiling of 1.5°C global mean temperature is liable to be reached next year and 2°C within a decade or two. This rapid heating will be boosted by Arctic meltdown: with less sunshine reflected by snow and ice, and with the release of the potent greenhouse gas, methane, from thawing permafrost. Arctic meltdown also affects the jet stream: we can expect the double-whammy of increased global heating and stuck jet stream patterns to produce ever more extreme heatwaves, droughts and wildfires. The climate crisis is indeed spiralling “out of control” (the Guardian headline on 6th October). Our only chance of seizing control, before catastrophe becomes inevitable, is through rapid, emergency cooling intervention. We owe it to the young people of today that we grasp the nettle and prepare for solar geoengineering: injecting sulphur dioxide into the stratosphere to mimic the cooling action of major volcanic eruptions. Experimental injection could even start next year: injection anywhere between 45N and 65N would safely limit the lifetime of the aerosol produced to a few months according to climate models. The risks from rapid full-scale intervention could prove tiny in comparison with the risk of leaving intervention too late to prevent catastrophic climate change for much of the world. To boot, a variety of appropriate interventions, together with a drastic cut in greenhouse gas emissions, could restore the planet to a safe, sustainable, biodiverse and productive state within the lifetimes of our young people.

Framing IPCC and the fossil fuel industry Climate crisis looms Denial of need for cooling intervention Cover-up of global warming crisis Cover-up of Arctic situation Best interest for humanity Hope for the future The urgency for cooling intervention could not be greater, nor the rewards.

Framing IPCC and the fossil fuel industry Climate crisis looms Denial of need for cooling intervention Cover-up of global warming crisis Cover-up of Arctic situation Best interest for humanity Hope for the future The urgency for cooling intervention could not be greater, nor the rewards.

In 1988 John Martin of the Moss Landing Marine Laboratory triggered a debate with a claim that with half a tanker of iron he could give us a new ice age. This was based on careful work on the concentrations of trace materials needed by phytoplankton and in particular, the concentration of iron. Phytoplankton are microscopic vegetable organisms which form at the start of the marine food chain. Their growth takes very large quantities of CO2 from the atmosphere. Quite a large fraction can end as organic ooze on the sea bed. This paper suggests the design of a vessel to increase plankton growth.

In 1988 John Martin of the Moss Landing Marine Laboratory triggered a debate with a claim that with half a tanker of iron he could give us a new ice age. This was based on careful work on the concentrations of trace materials needed by phytoplankton and in particular, the concentration of iron. Phytoplankton are microscopic vegetable organisms which form at the start of the marine food chain. Their growth takes very large quantities of CO2 from the atmosphere. Quite a large fraction can end as organic ooze on the sea bed. This paper suggests the design of a vessel to increase plankton growth.