It used to be dismissed as irresponsible science but Planet Hacking is getting a lot more attention these days. Geo-engineering, altering the atmosphere to control climate change may not only Change the Game, in the wrong hands it could End the Game and that's why even those who like it think the only way forward is with caution.

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Part Three of The Current

The risks of Planet Hacking - Richard Owen

The man who chaired the council for environmental quality under US president George Bush says the situation has never been weaker for a global agreement on carbon emissions. And that's fairly typical of the kind of sentiment coming from the climate conference in Durban, South Africa. The Kyoto Protocol is on its death bed, and countries such as Canada have issued "Do Not Resuscitate" orders.

But many climate scientists say quick action is needed to avoid catastrophe. There is a kind of "Plan B"... A radical suite of solutions that could quickly and dramatically counteract climate change. As you may have guessed, it's so full of risks even many of its proponents are queasy about it. It's called geoengineering ... deliberate interventions in the global climate.

Today, as part of our project Game Changer, we look at this emerging science that has the potential to change the planet in an unprecedented way. Eli Kintisch, a journalist with Science Magazine, calls it Planet Hacking. She's the author of Hack the Planet: Science's Best Hope - Or Worst Nightmare - For Averting Climate Catastrophe. We heard from her.

Geoengineering was not so long ago dismissed as irresponsible science fiction. But with carbon dioxide emissions spiraling, it's gained traction. There are two main kinds of geoengineering proposals. One would simply suck carbon out of the atmosphere, as plants do. The other is called solar radiation management - blocking the sun's heat from reaching the earth's lower atmosphere.

One of the first sun-blocking projects ready to make it off the drawing board was the Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering project, better known by its acronym, SPICE. It would have tested the feasibility of lowering global temperatures by simulating what happens in a volcanic eruption. But after being announced with much fanfare in September, it was postponed just two weeks later following a public outcry.

Richard Owen oversaw the governance side of the SPICE experiment. He's a professor of responsible innovation at the business school at the University of Exeter in England. He joined us from Bristol, England.

The risks of Planet Hacking - David Keith

David Keith is one of the world's leading geoengineering researchers. He began at the University of Calgary as an environmental engineer, and now he's a Professor of Public Policy at the Kennedy School at Harvard University. David Keith joined us from Calgary.

Related Links:

• Geoengineers get the fear By: Jeff Tollefson - Nature.com
• Saving Nature by Ending It: Geoengineering and the Moral Case for Conservation By: David Biello - Scientific American
• Public supports geoengineering research, survey finds By: Hanna Gersmann - The Guardian
• Scientists criticise handling of pilot project to 'geoengineer' climate By: Camila Ruz - The Guardian

Last Word - This Day in History

On this day in 1982, Micheal Jackson released Thriller, which went on to become
the best selling album of all time.

Twenty-nine years later, people seem less interested in Jackson's Thriller than
they are in Jackson's killer .... But maybe that's just 'Human Nature.'

Other segments from today's show:

• Harperized: Rebranding the federal government
• First Ladies of the RCMP - The history of women in the force