On Climate Frankensteins and Sun Kings
Commentary
When The Beatles sang the wispy, psychedelic tune “Sun King” on their Abbey Road album, I doubt that John Lennon, even on one of his wildest trips, envisioned scientists cooking up plans to block sunlight. Yet there are climate scientists today, apparently tripping out on apocalyptic visions of a boiling Earth, who are acting like would-be sun kings as they hatch grandiose plans to control how much of the sun’s rays reach Earth’s surface.
Two centuries ago, Mary Shelley expanded the frontiers of science fiction with her tale of Frankenstein—the mad scientist who dreamed of going one-up on nature by manufacturing his own man. Dr. Frankenstein succeeded—well, sort of. He got his creature, but it ended up killing him….