As distasteful as geo-engineering might be (and I see many comments here to that effect), it is probably the only politically palatable way to actually do somet

As distasteful as geo-engineering might be (and I see many comments here to that effect), it is probably the only politically palatable way to actually do something about the problem. The country with the world's largest CO2 emissions, China [1], has a political class that owes its legitimacy to continued economic growth. Other countries, hard hit by the recent economic crisis, are finding it difficult to confront the issue as well (e.g. witness Barack Obama's four years of near-silence about it). Yes, these proposals are terribly risky, but they deserve well-thought replies that highlight the actual risks and difficulties instead of high-handed dismissal on grounds of "geo-engineering". There are other fields of engineering where safety is paramount, and perhaps the concepts can be brought over. Having no options is certainly no guarantee of safety. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dio...