Building a better volcano http://www.grist.org/article/2010-04-22-building-a-better-volcano Engineering the Climate http://www.pri.org/science/environment/engineering-the-climate1954.html A Novel Geoengineering Idea: Increase the Ocean's Quotient of Whale Poop http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2010/04/23/a-novel-geoengineering-idea-increase-the-oceans-quotient-of-whale-poop/ Top 5 Geoengineering Schemes http://news.discovery.com/tech/geoengineering-schemes-top-5.html Pat Mooney on the Dangers of Geoengineering and Manipulating the Planet to Combat Climate Change http://www.democracynow.org/2010/4/20/four Manipulating the earth's climate might seem like the stuff of a fantastical tale by H.G. Wells, but as climate change continues, many scientists are intrigued by the possibilities afforded by the world of geoengineering. Last month, 200 scientists from 14 countries met at the Asilomar grounds near Monterey to establish some ground rules for research into the world of geoengineering and other large-scale climate modification projects. The hope of the meeting was to establish some quantifiable ground rules that would guide these efforts, and "the analogy of global warming to a curable disease was central to the discussions at the meeting." Many of the thinkers gathered at Asilomar, including Steve Schneider of Stanford and others, focused on the idea that the best framework for balancing the risks and benefits of this new research might be drawn from medical ethics. Ethical questions aside (and they are tremendously important), it is unclear at this point how such climate modification might even work. Some scientists and engineers have floated proposals that include building huge forests of artificial trees, creating rocks that suck up CO2, or even constructing massive devices that scrub the air. The first link will take users to a piece by Eli Kintisch on the recent conference in Asilomar which originally appeared in Slate magazine. The second link takes visitors to a piece from Grist by Jeff Goodell about the geoengineering possibilities presented by volcanic eruptions. Moving on, the third link leads to a great radio program from Public Radio International about the potential pitfalls of "massive climate interventions." The fourth link leads to a recent entry from the Discovery magazine blog about the potential geoengineering power of whale dung. The fifth link leads to a list from Discovery Magazine of the top five geoengineering schemes, which include stratospheric aerosols and space reflectors. The final link will take visitors to a thoughtful interview from the Democracy Now program with Paul Mooney, the executive director of the ETC Group, which addresses the impact of new technologies on vulnerable communities.