Earthmasters: The Dawn Of The Age Of Climate Engineering: Analysis

Clive Hamilton, in “Earthmasters: The Dawn of the Age of Climate Engineering“, examines the actuality of geoengineering, the so-called protective measure for global warming. He digs deep into the potential repercussions of the precise processes enveloped by the pretentious term “geoengineering”, calls for the inspection of the root germ of the infection at stake and advocates for the alteration of our attitude rather than experimenting naively with the greatest of the ecologies.
Hamilton provides a novel perspective on the pertinent issue of geoengineering. He defines it as a “large-scale intervention in the climate system designed to counter global warming or offset some of its effects”. Some key insights about geoengineering are revealed
Recently, a correlation was found between the disbelievers of global warming and the supporters of intervention in nature. The origin of this correlation is simply the conviction that nature is subordinate to humankind. The excess of this belief and the reliance on technology in the modern times has led the norm to be diverted towards technofixes, which minimally disturbs human’s stability. The tendency in humans is not to change themselves but to change everything that demands their changing. The rise in technology has shifted their attitude to promote stability and resist change. This, in turn, has advocated the thesis of the modification of nature, which is only apprehended to an extremely small extent. Reflecting upon the current prospect of geoengineering, climate scientist Ronald G. Prinn of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has asked, “How can you engineer a system you don’t understand?” Intervening in natural processes has the potential to haunt us in so many ways. Even if geoengineering becomes a temporary success, it is still damaging: it would make the so-called ‘Earth Masters’ more relaxed, who in turn will be less concerned about carbon emissions, exploiting nature to its
In the early 20th century, deal dams were built in Asbury Park, USA, to limit the severe damage from the floods. This altered the attitude of people who built more houses on the flood plain assuming that it is safe. Not long after, a huge flood, beyond the capacity of deal dams’ restriction ability, occurred, causing far greater destruction than normal floods. This incident provokes the same arguments that need application in geoengineering; nature is always emerging and is unbound to the corporeal limits; a significant amount of trust in an untested entity can cause immense