Podcasts · Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford
The Man Who Played With Hurricanes
· 38 min · S4 E17
Episode The Man Who Played With Hurricanes
Today, the idea of controlling the weather is controversial. Scientists who research geoengineering have even received death threats. But once upon a time, people were optimistic about remaking the climate in entire regions of the world. They approached this science with a touching faith in the power of human creativity.
Absent-minded genius Irving Langmuir was one such scientist. He dreamt of making deserts bloom and conjuring rain from an arid sky. He even believed that his experiments with a hurricane had succeeded in redirecting its path.
Why did we stop trying to control the weather? And might geoengineering help us solve climate change - or have we missed our chance?
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