SPEAKER Dr. David Keith Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics Professor Public Policy Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences TITLE An environmental case for solar geoengineering The combination of inertia and uncertainty makes the coupled climate-human system dangerously hard to control. Emissions cuts are necessary to manage climate risks, but they are not necessarily sufficient. I will argue for a broad solar geoengineering research program–from laboratory to outdoor field experiments–that aims to develop new technologies that can limit climate risks while minimizing side effects. I will show new results on human health impacts and on the use of solid artificial aerosols in the stratosphere. Finally, I will discuss the public policy of deployment suggesting strategies that are moderate, temporary and responsive. David Keith has worked near the interface between climate science, energy technology, and public policy for twenty five years. He took first prize in Canada’s national physics prize exam, won MIT’s prize for excellence in experimental physics, and was one of TIME magazine’s Heroes of the Environment. Best known for work on solar geoengineering, David’s analytical work has ranged from the climatic impacts of large-scale wind power to an early critique of the prospects for hydrogen fuel. David has built a high-accuracy infrared spectrometer for NASA’s ER-2 and developed new methods for reservoir engineering increase the safety of stored CO2. David divides his time between Cambridge where he is Professor of Applied Physics in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Professor of Public Policy in the Harvard Kennedy School; and Calgary, where he helps lead Carbon Engineering a company developing technology to capture of CO2 from ambient air.