“With geoengineering outlawed, will only outlaws have geoengineering?” – Stephen Dubner, writing in today’s Freakonomics blog at the New York Times.

Where to begin on the lameness of this comment? First, no one’s really seriously talking about outlawing geoengineering at the moment– climate scientists like Ken Caldeira merely say we need to study it further, just in case we need to use it. There is no Montreal Protocol-type global agreement on banning, or even phasing out, geoengineering strategies.

Second: Really? You really want to put the climate/geoengineering debate on the same plane as that for gun laws? (The “When something is outlawed … ” phrase is most commonly used by pro-gun people.) Not constructive by a long shot.

And, finally, isn’t it all just a bit too snarky? Can’t we discuss these issues like grownups?

Tags: quote of the day