Since no new ideas have occurred to me for a while, I’m going to kickstart the engine by taking a look at New Scientist and seeing how Science is meddling in God’s domain this week. And then think up a way to tell a story about it.
Let’s see here…Okay. Looks like Geoengineering would be ‘irrational and irresponsible’
That is, according to the US National Academies: “sending mirrors into space or putting sulphur dioxide in the stratosphere could have ‘unanticipated, unmanageable and regrettable consequences” on the global climate.'” However, it would be a lot cheaper and faster than all this boring-ass carbon-counting we’re doing now.
So the question is, who’d go for it? Geoengineering (at least for the near future) is probably only going to be a game for national governments. So we need a country with a lot of money, a love of big, expensive, poorly-conceived, ridiculous—it’s China. It’s just. It’s China, guys.
The first idea that comes to mind is a volcano-inducer, perhaps activated in the tectonically active Tibetan plateau. Spew that ash up into the atmosphere, cool the planet, bring industry to an underdeveloped region…but that seems a bit super-villain-ish. Why might such a crazy scheme be a GOOD idea?
Perhaps because the ice caps have melted and Beijing has been flooded? Imagine if you will, a climate-apocalypse story where China is one of the countries that hasn’t collapsed. Before anyone else can object, they induce the volcanoes and begin a Controlled Global Winter.
But when India attempts to seize the volcanoes and cuts off road- and air-access, the only people capable of sneaking into the mountain-top control towers and regaining controls are the local Tibetans.