The Climate Casino Quotes

“The problem is that those who produce the emissions do not pay for that privilege, and those who are harmed are not compensated.”
― William D. Nordhaus, The Climate Casino

“The principle underlying solar radiation management is to slow or reverse warming by changing the energy balance of the earth. You can think of the process as making the earth “whiter” or more reflective, so that less sunlight reaches the surface. This cooling effect will offset the warming that comes from the accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere. The whitening process is similar to changes that occur after large volcanic eruptions. After Mount Pinatubo blasted 20 million tons of particles into the stratosphere in 1991, global temperatures fell by about 0.4°C. Geoengineering can be viewed as creating artificial volcanic eruptions, and five or ten artificial Pinatubo eruptions might need to be created every year to offset the warming effects of CO2 accumulation.”
― William D. Nordhaus, The Climate Casino

“This point deserves repetition because it is so critical: The most cost-effective way to reduce CO2 emissions is to reduce the use of coal first and most sharply.”
― William D. Nordhaus, The Climate Casino

“In recent years there have been many proposals for geoengineering through solar radiation management. Some involve literally making the earth whiter (say, by using white roofs and roads). Perhaps the easiest to visualize is putting millions of little mirror-like particles 20 miles above the earth. For example, we might artificially increase sulfate aerosols in the stratosphere above background levels. This would increase the planetary albedo or whiteness and reduce incoming solar radiation. Climate scientists have calculated that reflecting about 2 percent of solar output could offset the warming effect of a doubling of CO2. The right number of particles in the right place could reduce solar radiation and cool the earth by the desired amount.”
― William D. Nordhaus, The Climate Casino

“It will be useful to analyze a specific tipping point, the Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS), to illustrate the mechanisms and why they are of great concern. This discussion provides a taste of what climate science is grappling with at the frontier of knowledge. The GIS covers 1.7 million square kilometers—roughly the size of western Europe. It is the planet’s second largest ice sheet, after the Antarctic Ice Sheet. It is on average 2,000 meters (1.2 miles) thick. If the entire volume of the ice sheet were to melt—all 2,900,000 cubic kilometers or 750,000,000,000,000,000 gallons—it would cause global sea level to rise by 7 meters (or 23 feet).”
― William D. Nordhaus, The Climate Casino