2011 Vetlesen Lectures in Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the University
of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography:
The State of Our Oceans
Should We Engineer the Climate? - Feb 15.
Margaret Leinen, founder of the Climate Response Fund and executive
director of the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic
University, will present a lecture entitled “Should We Engineer
the Climate?” at the University of Rhode Island on Feb. 15 at
7:30 p.m. Her presentation, in Edward’s Auditorium on the URI
Kingston campus, is part of the University’s Vetlesen lecture
series on “The State of the Oceans” in conjunction with
the 50th anniversary of the Graduate School of Oceanography. The event
is free and open to the public. 
In her lecture, Leinen argues that the impact of climate change will be so severe that we should conduct research into climate engineering. Leinen will describe geoengineering, its prospects, its dangers and how it should be controlled.
“The scientific community has begun to discuss the possibility of engineering the climate to avoid dangerous impacts of climate change,” said Leinen. “Would this radical strategy work? What would be the environmental consequences of such engineering? Are there any mechanisms that could be used to govern climate engineering? What norms or ethical principles must be considered?”
Formerly dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography and associate provost for marine and environmental programs at URI, Leinen founded the Climate Response Fund to foster discussion of climate engineering research and to decrease the risk that these techniques might be deployed before they are adequately understood or regulated.
Previously, Leinen was chief science officer of Climos, Inc. and assistant director for geosciences at the National Science Foundation. In this latter post, she was responsible for leadership of the International Group of Agencies for Global Change Research and defending the advocating for major research into climate change.
She earned a Ph.D. in oceanography from URI, a master’s degree in geological oceanography from Oregon State University, a bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of Illinois.
For background material on this lecture, click here.
To view this lecture online, click here.
Major Sponsors:
The G. Unger Vetlesen Foundation
The URI Graduate School of Oceanography
Co-Sponsors:
URI Coastal Institute
URI Honors Program
Special Sponsors:
URI College of Arts & Sciences
URI Harrington School of Communication and Media
Rhode Island Sea Grant
Colloquium Coordinators:
Professor Steven D'Hondt, Graduate School of Oceanography;
Dr. Sunshine Menezes, Metcalf Institute for Marine & Environmental Reporting, Graduate School of Oceanography;
Professor Arthur Spivack, Graduate School of Oceanography;
Professor Judith Swift, Coastal Institute / Communication Studies.
