The Science in The Fiction Heidi Sevestre on Geoengineering in Kim Stanley Robinson's 'The Ministry For The Future'
Marty and Holly sit down with Dr. Heidi Sevestre for a conversation about climate change and geoengineering, as portrayed in The Ministry For The Future by Kim Stanley Robinson. Dr. Sevestre is a glaciologist who is leading the call to action on climate change through her research and education initiatives. We talk about her recent expedition to Svalbard with Climate Sentinels, a zero-emission research expedition on skis to understand the impact of black soot on the melting of glaciers. We also discuss her recent expedition to film a National Geographic documentary (Arctic Ascent) about the surging glaciers in Greenland, gathering unprecedented data with the help of NASA technology and some of the world's best climbers (Alex Honnold, Hazel Findlay, Aldo Kane, Mikey Schaefer, Adam Kjeldsen). Then we get into the nuts and bolts of some of the geoengineering proposals in The Ministry For The Future, and bring Dr. Sevestre’s perspective as a working climate scientist on how to make the best use of our resources and the time we have left to halt and reverse the trajectory we are on. We discuss pumping out the lubricating layer under glaciers to prevent them from dropping into the ocean and raising sea levels catastrophically. We talk about dying the arctic ocean yellow, sending sulphates into the upper atmosphere or spreading reflective beads over the arctic. It seems that if our civilization and species is going to survive, it’s going to take a lot of bottom-up solutions and the collective action of our next few generations on this planet. While attempts at solar radiation management on a global scale will likely cause more harm then good, major carbon sequestration projects will be needed. And it may be that the most effective way to capture carbon will be to create more forests and wetlands, saving the world by re-wilding the world; our best solutions may come from ecological engineering rather than geoengineering.
Home | Dr. Heïdi Sevestre Glaciologist (heidisevestre.com)
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Climate Sentinels | Hurtigruten Group
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Dr. Heïdi Sevestre (@HeidiSevestre) / X (twitter.com)
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The Ministry for the Future - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ministry_for_the_Future
KimStanleyRobinson.info | The reference site for Kim Stanley Robinson
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