Harvard Soiree

[Bill Fulkerson]

What important came out of the Harvard meeting?  Is there a summary of issues and results? 

Bill Fulkerson, Senior Fellow

Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment

University of Tennessee

311 Conference Center Bldg.

Knoxville, TN 37996-4138

wf...@utk.edu

865-974-9221, -1838 FAX

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865-988-8084 

2781 Wheat Road, Lenoir City, TN 37771

[David Keith]

Bill,

 

There are various things in the works, but we don’t have immediate plans to provide a summary. The science article is a good overview.

 

Cheers,
D

 

 

---

[Alvia Gaskill]

And here is the Science article.

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/318/5853/1054/DC1

Science 16 November 2007:
Vol. 318. no. 5853, pp. 1054 - 1055
DOI: 10.1126/science.318.5853.1054

Should We Study Geoengineering?
A Science Magazine Panel Discussion

Last week, an elite group of climate researchers and policy experts
met in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to discuss geoengineering, the
deliberate tinkering with Earth's climate to reverse climate change.
Science covered the event, and its implications, on ScienceNOW and in
the magazine .

End of my summary.

More of a philosophical discussion than one of technical details. The
words desperate, frightened, unknown, fear, loss of control and
irreversibility are used liberally. Almost like they are discussing
the pros and cons of being the first person to ever have a
colonoscopy.

On the matter of irreversibility, the U.S. delegates to the IPCC
Synthesis report meeting reportedly said that the ice sheets could
reform, thus, there is no irreversibility problem.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071116/sc_afp/unclimatewarmingipcc_071116122355;_ylt=AmEsNdrAanpNMOAFsdT1pAGs0NUE

Climate change report to warn of potentially 'irreversible' impacts

VALENCIA, Spain (AFP) - Less than three weeks before a crucial
conference on climate change, UN experts agreed Friday on a draft
report that warns global warming may have far-reaching and
irreversible consequences.

Human activities "could lead to abrupt or irreversible climate changes
and impacts," the agreed text said.

US delegates in particular said references to "irreversible" climate
change and impacts were imprecise.

They argued, for example, that the melting of glaciers or ice sheets
-- which could raise ocean levels by several meters (a dozen feet) --
was not "irreversible" as ice could eventually reform.

"But we are not dealing with geological time scales of tens of
thousands of years," said one delegate, irked by this line of
reasoning. "We are talking about dire consequences to humans and the
environment in the coming decades."

On Nov 14, 7:03 pm, "David Keith" <ke...@ucalgary.ca> wrote:
> Bill,
>
> There are various things in the works, but we don't have immediate plans to
> provide a summary. The science article is a good overview.
>
> Cheers,
> D
>
> _____
>

> From: geoengi...@googlegroups.com
> [mailto:geoengi...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Bill Fulkerson
> Sent: November-14-07 1:47 PM
> To: geoengi...@googlegroups.com
> Subject: Harvard Soiree
>
> What important came out of the Harvard meeting? Is there a summary of
> issues and results?
>
> Bill Fulkerson, Senior Fellow
>
> Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment
>
> University of Tennessee
>
> 311 Conference Center Bldg.
>
> Knoxville, TN 37996-4138
>

> <mailto:wf...@utk.edu> wf...@utk.edu