There are two main schools of thought who have opinions on Geoengineering: the Gaians and Prometheans. The Gaians are anti geoengineering. They do not like when man acts upon nature. A common quote Gaians cite is “Mother Nature always strikes Last.” Nature and the environment are always right in the eyes of the Gaians. Gaians are against the utilization of SRM, mainly due to the fact they are completely against unintended consequences. They believe that humanity should alter the planet’s course, and nature should always be the deciding factor. Geoengineering has the possibility of being harmful to our environment even though it is being done to prevent climate change.
Prometheans wish to apply technology to solve anything. Promethean scientists wish to do more research before deploying geoengineering. They still keep it as an option because they need to determine the negative effects. Prometheans believe humans have always altered the environment and should continue to do so. They make decisions after taking note of the possible consequences. Humans are the alphas. We decide what to do with the Earth, and we should be properly fulfilling our roles of protecting nature.
Sustainability is the key that will bring Gaians and Prometheans together. The concept of putting the environment first is appealing to both of them. Evolution should continue to happen. Nature is dynamic. So according to the “Thiele” document, conservation must be dynamic. Uniting over sustainability can lead to the ideological differences of Gaians and Prometheans to be removed. SRM is similar to a natural process, so it is conceivable that some Gaians would support it.Prometheans might not support SRM due to the fact it is very risky and will want to use alternate methods.
Geoengineering could help save the environment or continue the downward spiral of multiple ecological systems. Humanity and subgroups such as Gaians and Prometheans should come together to make decisions to save the environment.