If someone told you that dumping 100 tons of iron into the Pacific Ocean was just 'organic gardening,' would you believe them? This is the starting point for a fascinating exploration into the power of the metaphors we use to describe geoengineering—large-scale interventions designed to fix our climate. In this episode, we dive into John Sweeney’s analysis of how these stories aren't just colorful language; they are political tools that shape which futures we can imagine and which ones we've already given up on.

Sweeney uses Causal Layered Analysis to peel back the levels of our 'geoengineered imaginaries.' He examines the maverick 'geo-vigilante' persona of entrepreneurs alongside the formal, regulatory 'Oxford Principles.' What he finds is a field stuck in a 'used future'—a reliance on old institutional rules and binary politics that fails to address the radical uncertainty of our current climate emergency. By deconstructing these narratives, the paper challenges us to move beyond mere strategic foresight toward something more transformative.

Tune in as we unpack why saving the world might require us to start playing a completely different kind of game.

Ref:
Sweeney, John A. Not Organic Gardening or Rocket Science: New Metaphors (and a Politics) for Geoengineered Imaginaries. Journal of Futures Studies, 28(1), 2023, 101-113. https://doi.org/10.6531/JFS.202309_28(1).0009