What technical fixes might be used to reduce or eliminate the ...

[sjones]

What technical fixes might be used to reduce or eliminate the effects of warming?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

What does equity have to do with the global warming issue? Explain.
 
  What will be an ideal response?

[Chocorrol77]

Answer to Question 1

Some are discussed in this chapter, and more are referred to in the extensions.
Sequestration, or storage of CO2 in geologic formations is a tested possibility, but the
possibility of leakage and the danger of injection into the ocean are understudied. Planting
trees also sequesters carbon. If enough trees are planted, it could make a big difference.
Seawalls as barriers could be constructed to keep the sea from flooding low-lying coastal
areas (this is very expensive). Satellite shading of Earth to reduce incident sunlight is also a
technical possibility. This latter is one of a number of possible geoengineering solutions to
the problem humanity has caused for itself. Other ideas discussed in this chapter include
ocean fertilization and sequestration. For accessible fairly recent articles on this subject, see
Anne McIlroy, Going to extremes to fight global warming, The Toronto Globe and
Mail, 3 June 2006 and William J. Broad, How to cool a planet (maybe), The New York
Times, 27 June 2006.

Answer to Question 2

Equity means the state, quality, or ideal of being just, impartial, and fair
according to the dictionary. In this case, we are referring to the costs and gains coming from
global warming. The causes of global warming lie in the industrial revolution, which was
restricted to what are now called the developed countries. These countries have benefited
from spewing out greenhouse gases, and the inhabitants of these countries have benefited
from these actions as well. Should the groups that have caused the problem and gained
thereby also pay the price for cleaning up the mess? What is fair in this context? What does
justice mean? These are good questions, and students (and citizens) do need to contemplate
these equity issues.