In an interview with the Associated Press, John Holdren, President Obama’s newly confirmed science advisor, discussed the possibility of ‘climate engineering’ to battle global warming.  The radical and somewhat controversial technology would require an extraordinary intervention by man in an attempt to purposely influence the climate.

Mr. Holdren feels however the dangers of climate change could leave Earth with little choice.  He is quoted as saying, “It’s got to be looked at.  We don’t have the luxury of taking any approach off the table.”

Climate engineering, or geoengineering, could theoretically be accomplished a number of ways.  Most currently studied techniques revolve around attempts to counteract greenhouse gases, specifically carbon dioxide, which is believe to be responsible for global warming.  Technology to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere called ‘air scrubbing’ is one alternative the administration is supposedly considering.  Another extreme option would be to purposely inject pollution into the atmosphere to reflect the sun’s rays. 

Prior to his nomination, Holdren was a physicist and professor at Harvard.  He has long sounded the alarm of manmade climate change saying global warming is like being “in a car with bad brakes driving toward a cliff in the fog.” 

For all the details, read the rest of this story on our Denver Weather Examiner page.