Geoengineering the Climate
There has been increasing awareness of the fact that the climate is warming at a faster rate than ever – a temperature rise between 0.2-0.8(± 0.2°C) from the pre-industrial era till date which paints a bad picture of flooding for some nations, droughts or harsh winters for others, and economic problems for all. Several proposals have been considered by various Governments who, in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol, have set up policies to mitigate gases such as sulphur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons, nitrogen oxides, methane and carbon dioxide that absorb and emit infrared radiation back to the earth’s surface. Developed nations have successfully reduced every other greenhouse gas except carbon dioxide, whose level has increased by over 108 parts per million (ppm) since 1850 due to ever-increasing emissions from fossil fuel-based plants and vehicles which, left unchecked, could result in a global temperature rise of about 2-3°C by the next century- a very significant rise in tempera