Fixing Atmospheres? Geoengineering as Science Fiction | Podium Talk and Discussion with Dr. Chris Pak (Swansea University, UK) and Lili Fuhr (Center for International Environmental Law) in cooperation with DHMD | June 18 | Even Series "In the Greenhouse"

Fixing the Atmosphere? Geo-Engineering as Science Fiction

Global warming is a consequence of man-made changes to the atmosphere. Since the 1970s, technological intervention in the climate, known as solar geoengineering, has been increasingly discussed as a solution strategy. This involves the manipulation of the atmosphere to reflect more solar radiation and thus slow down global warming. In these techno-utopian visions, science fiction and engineering science lie close together. 

The event sheds light on the hopes and risks of geo-engineering and examines them using snippets of science fiction literature and film. We ask: Can technologies help to ‘repair’ the atmosphere? What dangers do these technical interventions harbour? Who decides on the use of such technologies - and assesses their consequences?

With: Prof. Dr Chris Pak, literary scholar, Swansea University (UK); Lili Fuhr, geographer and political scientist, Center for International Environmental Law

Moderation: Junior Prof. Dr Moritz Ingwersen, Junior Professor of North American Literature with a focus on Future Studies, Technische Universität Dresden