Published January 30th, 2008 by Future Atlas
Geoengineering as a weapon
Writing in Foreign Policy, Jamais Cascio writes that the geoengineering capabilities that might help the world fight climate change could also be turned into weapons.
The offensive use of geoengineering could take a variety of forms. Overproductive algae blooms can actually sterilize large stretches of ocean over time, effectively destroying fisheries and local ecosystems. Sulfur dioxide carries health risks when it cycles out of the stratosphere. One proposal would pull cooler water from the deep oceans to the surface in an explicit attempt to shift the trajectories of hurricanes. Some actors might even deploy counter-geoengineering projects to slow or alter the effects of other efforts.
Weaponized geoengineering, Cascio writes, might tempt nations by being both stealthy and fairly inexpensive.