Children of the Wasteland: Experimental Biology vs. Global Catastrophe ch.1

Chapter One: Will the Wasteland Blossom? Here we search for synthetic biology-assisted interventions into runaway climate change and other catastrophic Earth changes. Our first chapter looks at the current state of climate science, and the schools of thought within it. We look at the physical metaphors we use to think about planetary change, such as “thresholds” and “collapse,” and how they constrain our ability to speak of the dynamic range of conceivable futures. We examine the sparse and contradictory literature on one particularly distressing climate feedback: the possibility of massive undersea methane release, discussing recent science indicating methane destabilization is quite possible in the near-future. We also examine the biology of the seafloor methane-sulfate transition zone, where a symbiotic association of microbes consumes methane from destabilized hydrates, maintaining atmospheric equilibrium. It is here we will begin a speculative case study in stabilizing the climate system with techniques at the forefront of experimental biology.