Summary/Abstract
This article examines the principles of domestic United States law applicable to geoengineering research projects and walks through the analysis required for an environmental impact statement (EIS) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and a variety of other U.S. statutes and common-law doctrines. A key aspect of the investigation stage is that, in contrast to any actual attempts at implementation, such studies will operate at too small a scale and for too short a period to either benefit or harm the earth’s climate. However, experimental studies may have localized adverse consequences that ordinarily would be given weight in traditional impact and cost-benefit analysis under environmental and tort laws. The paper argues that the need to understand the geoengineering option is sufficiently pressing that domestic legal standards should be construed, and modified if necessary, to facilitate an incremental and responsible advance in knowledge.