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On November 5, the House Science and Technology Committee held the first congressional hearing on geoengineering, the deliberate large-scale modification of Earth's climate systems to counteract climate change. Committee Chair Bart Gordon (D-TN) explained that his decision to hold this hearing "should not in any way be misconstrued as an endorsement of any geoengineering activity." Instead, he said, "Geoengineering carries with it a tremendous range of uncertainties, ethical and political concerns, and the potential for catastrophic environmental side effects. But we are faced with the stark reality that the climate is changing, and the onset of impacts may outpace the world's political and economic ability to avoid them."
Gordon said that the hearing will be the first part of a joint...