washingtonpost daily news (February 11, 2015

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A federal panel recommended studying

‘ Geoengineering ’ would be a risky last resort, scientists say

a kind of climate modification that would have far-reaching consequences. A federal panel of scientists has recommended studying ways that humans can alter the Earth to counter the effects of climate change — a strategy called “geoengineering” that experts say would be a reckless last resort
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Reducing emissions of carbon dioxide is the best way to prevent the risk of dangerous climate change, said a panel assembled by the National Research Council of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. But in case that effort fails, the panel urged the government to study ways to modify the atmosphere to reflect more of the sun’s light back into space, a technique called “albedo modification
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One way of doing that is by injecting large volumes of sulfate particles into the middle atmosphere to deflect sunlight before it reaches the Earth’s surface. That would be like installing an artificial thermostat to turn down the Earth’s dangerously rising temperature — last year was the hottest on record — by banishing some of the energy streaming to the Earth from the sun.
Scientists know that method would work because it’s what happens when large volcanic eruptions send plumes of ash into the air.

Tens of millions of tons of sulfate aerosol, for instance, could offset a doubling of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
But there would be side effects — the particles could alter where rain falls across the globe or further deplete ozone in the atmosphere. The consequences would be felt differently in various places
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That scientists would advocate studying such a drastic step “should be a wake-up call that we need to do more now to reduce emissions, which is the most effective, least risky way to combat climate change,” committee chairwoman Marcia McNutt, editor in chief of the journal Science and former director of the U.S. Geological Survey, said in a statement
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Indeed, the scientists wrote that artificially changing the Earth’s reflectivity, or albedo, would be “irrational” without also trying to reduce carbon dioxide. Such geoengineering would not solve the underlying problem of too much carbon dioxide.
Still, the committee recommended federally sponsored research on the matter to learn more about its risks and benefits, despite fears about the “moral hazard” of considering an action that could undermine the more fundamental work of reducing emissions
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“The Committee argues that, as a society, we have reached a point where the severity of the potential risks from climate change appears to outweigh the potential risks from the moral hazard associated with a suitably designed and governed research program,” the panel wrote
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Overall, the report represents a “big tent” approach, said Raymond Pierrehumbert, a geophysicist at the University of Chicago who served on the committee, suggesting a range of views among the participating scientists. (There were 16 committee members
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“One of the best things that could come out of the NRC report is to just alert people to the fact that unrestrained emissions could make the world so bad that we might do something like albedo modification just out of desperation,” Pierrehumbert said.
Reasoning that there are many scenarios in which we would need to know more about artificially changing the Earth’s reflectivity — such as if a rogue state decides to try it — the committee recommended that the U.S. Global Change Research Program coordinate studies on the matter and that the research be performed in such a way as to simultaneously increase basic knowledge of the climate system
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The recommendation includes conducting “small-scale field experiments” with “controlled emissions” — provided that the experiments are too localized and minuscule in scale to have any significant climatic effect. All of this would need to take place, notes the committee, under the aegis of a deliberative process about how to govern geoengineering research, to ensure ethical considerations are weighed, and to balance risks and benefits
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The National Research Council report was sponsored by a number of U.S. science agencies and the U.S. intelligence community. In a separate report, the council explored the subject of carbon-dioxide removal, which is considerably less controversial, and is mainly held back at the moment by technological and cost considerations
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The idea is to use technology to remove the carbon dioxide that is in the atmosphere, because of human emissions. Its removal would also induce a cooling effect if deployed on a large enough scale
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Fanned by climate concerns, the two reports arrive following a dramatic growth in scientific publications and discussions about geoengineering over the past decade. The British Royal Society, the world’s oldest scientific academy, also recommended government-sanctioned and organized research into geoengineering in a 2009 report
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Until now, the research studies on geoengineering published in scientific journals generally have relied on computer simulations to study the hypothetical effects of various interventions. True outdoor experiments that change the world are another matter — but if the framework outlined by the National Research Council were to be adopted, they could go forward carefully.

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A quieter Christie emerges in Iowa

Without his usual bravado, does the N.J. governor have the same appeal?

“I’m not too blunt and too direct to be in Iowa or any place else in this country. I know there are times you may see or read something that I’ve said and say, ‘Oh my gosh, I cannot believe he said that out loud.’ ” New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie

west des moines, iowa — A man claiming to be the brash-talking governor of New Jersey showed up at a gathering of Republicans here this week and spoke quietly about his record and his priorities — cutting government, keeping the nation safe and, if necessary, working with Democrats
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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), left, talks with attendees at the Dallas County Spring Speaker Series in West Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday. Christie shelved his usual bombast and presented a more sober side at the Republican event
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Gone were the bluster and bravado that have made Chris Christie a long-touted contender for the White House. The new Chris Christie was serious, earnest, calmly gesturing as he spoke — hoping to reach the kind of moderate, business-friendly Republican voters he will need if he is to compete in Iowa and eventually take the GOP presidential nomination
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“I’m not too blunt and too direct to be in Iowa or any place else in this country,” Christie assured the well-dressed Republicans, who paid $25 per ticket. “I know there are times you may see or read something that I’ve said and say, ‘Oh, my gosh, I cannot believe he said that out loud
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The reception to Christie’s soft pitch, however, was decidedly mixed
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He “seemed a little flat,” Craig Robinson, a former political director of the Iowa Republican Party, said in a blog post afterward. “. . . I couldn’t shake the fact that the guy speaking to a room of 60 people in West Des Moines was the same guy who provided the keynote address for the 2012 Republican National Convention
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This is one of the central challenges facing Christie, who just a week earlier was making waves in London by questioning the necessity of mandatory vaccinations and barking at reporters for asking questions. At the last GOP convention, he garnered accolades and howls for a self-aggrandizing speech focused on his accomplishments and his tough persona
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But that version of Christie is less attractive amid New Jersey’s credit downgrades, a traffic scandal and other troubles in Trenton. Christie now finds himself lagging behind the potential 2016 pack in surveys of Republicans in Iowa and New Hampshire, which begin the nominating process next year
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So in a windowless conference room in a suburban Marriott here Monday night, Christie set out to provide a sober, understated rationale for his likely candidacy. He told the audience that his record stacks up well against those of former Florida governor Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and other GOP hopefuls, pointing in particular to his ability to negotiate with a Democratic legislature in a Democratic state
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“I don’t think there are a lot of governments across this country that will be able to tell you that they’re actually spending less than they did seven years ago,” Christie said. He added later for the Iowa guests that he had taken on New Jersey lawmakers who tried to ban gestational crates for pigs, “yet we produce almost no pork
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“If that doesn’t prepare you for the craziness of Washington, D.C., I don’t know what would,” Christie said as the crowd chuckled.
Many attendees said they first heard of Christie when he was battling teachers unions in 2010, during his first gubernatorial term, and learned about him mostly through YouTube videos of combative town hall meetings that made him, for a period, one of the conservative movement’s leading lights
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What drew them to Christie at the time wasn’t so much the details of his gubernatorial record but the forceful way he articulated his vision. His unapologetic bombast in a party dominated by stiff suits was the draw
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That approach has been shelved. Unlike some Christie events in New Jersey, where promotional videos with pulsing soundtracks play before he roams onstage with Bruce Springs teenlike swagger, Christie’s stagecraft here was bare-bones, with only a glass of water, a lectern and a brief introduction
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Christie stuck to a muted mien during his 40-minute presentation, dutifully listing a range of what he considers to be his most notable achievements, from reducing the number of state employees to capping state property taxes
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Heads nodded respectfully throughout, but the applause was sporadic. The biggest round of clapping came for a barb about President Obama being “a man in a dark room struggling up against the wall, looking for the light switch of leadership.”
Some in the crowd appreciated the tact. Miriam Fox, 47, a neurology technician at a Des Moines hospital, said that “it was exactly the right tone. He was respectful of the audience, of Iowa
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Christie carefully played up his middle-class roots — a point of contrast with recent controversies over his embrace of wealthy Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and a New York Times report on his penchant for private planes and luxe hotels.
“I have an Irish father, and I had a Sicilian mother,” he said. “Now, what this means is, from a very young age, I became adept at conflict resolution
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Christie also cited his broadly hawkish views on foreign affairs
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“Global terrorism and radical Islam is not a theory to me,” said Christie, a former federal prosecutor. He said the United States needs to be more aggressive in countering threats, though that doesn’t necessarily mean placing “boots on the ground.”
On Common Core, a set of national education standards opposed by many conservatives, Christie said he has “grave concerns” and has asked state officials to “reexamine” its use in New Jersey’s public schools
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The picture Christie painted of his budgetary triumphs stands in sharp contrast with political reality back in New Jersey. Garden State unions continue to contest his policies in court, and Moody’s Investors Service says the state faces $83 billion in unfunded pension liabilities
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Members of Christie’s political team — including confidant William Palatucci, who watched Christie on Monday from the back of the room — know that the pressure on them to get traction in a field likely to feature a number of self-styled “conservative reformers” is growing by the day
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Last month at a conservative summit in Des Moines, Walker gave a breakout speech that championed his battles with public unions in Wisconsin over collective-bargaining rights. Bush, in a soon-to-be-published e-book, will showcase his push to revamp Florida’s state government
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Christie, who also spoke at that Jan. 24 tea party conclave, was low-key there as well, eschewing red-meat overtures as he talked up his antiabortion position and his state’s programs to assist those dealing with drug addiction
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He met earlier Monday with Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R), who reminded Christie that he has traveled to Iowa 13 times since 2010, often to raise money for Branstad, who was elected to a sixth term last year. Christie will return next month for an agricultural policy summit in Des Moines
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After his remarks, Christie shook hands for about five minutes before telling organizers he had a flight to catch.
“I have no reluctance about being here,” Christie said before ducking into a waiting SUV. “I like Iowa a lot. I’ve always done very well here in terms of the reception I’ve gotten. We’ll see what happens.”

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A Senate panel voted unanimously

McCain: Confirmation vote could occur as soon as Wednesday

to confirm Ashton B. Carter as secretary of defense. A Senate panel voted unanimously Tuesday in favor of Ashton B. Carter’s nomination to become secretary of defense, and he could win final confirmation for the job this week
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Ashton B. Carter, left, talks with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), head of the Armed Services Committee, prior to a Feb. 4 hearing.
Carter, who would become the fourth Pentagon chief to serve under President Obama, easily won the approval of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Carter had testified before the panel last week and encountered few obstacles, though lawmakers used the hearing to express objections to the Obama administration’s policies in various hot spots, including Ukraine, Syria and Afghanistan
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Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the committee chairman, said the full Senate could vote on Carter’s nomination as soon as Wednesday.
If confirmed, Carter would take over from Chuck Hagel, who never really recovered from a much rockier Senate confirmation process two years ago and ultimately lost the confidence of the White House. Hagel announced in November that he would resign but agreed to stay on the job until a successor was in place
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Carter, 60, served under Hagel for a year as deputy secretary of defense and held several highranking Pentagon jobs before that. He is a physicist by training and a nuclear weapons expert
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Assuming no last-minute hurdles arise in the confirmation process, Carter will immediately be tasked with overseeing the gradual intensification of the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the continued withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, and the question of how to respond to the conflict in Ukraine
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With Russian-backed rebels making gains in eastern Ukraine, pressure is building in Congress to send arms to the government in Kiev. Carter testified last week that he would be inclined to provide weapons to Ukraine, although thus far Obama has resisted doing so, relying instead on a mix of economic sanctions and diplomacy to counter Moscow
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