Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
wrinkles within the basic cost-benefi t pattern. The local nature of adap-
tation implies that most of the necessary decisions can be taken locally,
or perhaps by nations, rather than globally.
Second, adaptation is completely different from mitigation, geoen-
gineering, or carbon removal. Adaptation puts the emphasis on living
with climate change, while the other options emphasize prevention.
We can use an analogy of house fi res. Suppose I live in a remote moun-
tain house in New Mexico that has a high fi re risk. It is near a forest just
waiting for a wildfi re. I can consider prevention or adaptation. Preven-
tion would involve such things as clearing the trees near my house,
putting on a metal roof, and keeping my yard free of combustible mate-
rials. The point of these steps is to prevent my house from burning down.
Another approach might be to prepare for a fi re. This would involve
an evacuation plan, keeping my valuables in a remote location or fi re-
proof safe, and staying tuned to local fi re reports. This strategy is to
adapt if a fi re occurs. While both are sensible strategies in certain situ-
ations, and most people would actually do both, they are fundamen-
tally different approaches.
So adaptation is likely to be a necessary and useful part of the port-
folio of actions to reduce the dangers from global warming. It is a com-
plement, not a substitute, for mitigation. Particularly in areas that are
heavily managed by humans, such as health care and farming, adap-
tation can remove many of the damaging impacts. A careful look re-
veals, however, that some of the most important dangers are
unmanageable and cannot realistically be removed by adaptation;
these include effects such as ocean carbonization and ecosystem
losses. The only sure way to avoid such long-run dangers is to reduce
CO
2
and other greenhouse-gas concentrations.
GEOENGINEERING: COUNTERACTING GLOBAL WARMING
WITH ARTIFICIAL VOLCANOES
Relying solely on adaptation to cope with climate change is not a
recommended option. However, is it possible that modern technologies
can slow or stop global warming through interventions in the earth's
physics or chemistry? Such approaches are called geoengineering. Geo-
