1 Hoffert in US House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Energy of the Committee on Science (2006: 91).

2 See, particularly, McCright and Dunlap (2011: 159); see also Brechin and Freeman (2004).

3 Fincham (2014).

4 Turner and Isenberg (2018: 168).

5 Keller (2009: 109).

6 See, particularly, McCright and Dunlap (2011: 159f.).

7 Keller (2009: 109).

8 See, e.g., McCright and Dunlap (2011).

9 Hoffert in US House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Energy of the Committee on Science (2006: 46); US House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform (2006: 129). Hoffert had submitted this prepared testimony both to the House Science Committee, as well as the House Committee on Government Reform.

10 US House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform (2006); see also: US House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Energy of the Committee on Science (2003: 47).

11 See, e.g., US House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Energy, Committee on Science (2003: 47); throughout discussion in US House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Energy of the Committee on Science (2006); throughout discussion in US House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform (2006), US Senate, Committee on Environment and Public Works (2007: 66), US House of Representatives, Committee on Appropriations (2009: 239); US House of Representatives, Committee on Science and Technology (2010b: 32); US Senate, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (2011: 36).

12 See, e.g., throughout discussion in US House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Energy of the Committee on Science (2006); throughout discussion in US House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform (2006); US House of Representatives, Committee on Science and Technology (2009: 155); US House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies of the Committee on Appropriations (2009: 239).

13 US House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Energy of the Committee on Science (2006: 51).

14 Hoffert in US House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform (2006: 124).

15 The ‘first appearance’ of these policy targets concerns the here examined corpus of documents, dealing with climate engineering measures.

16 US House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Energy of the Committee on Science (2006: 58).

17 Socolow in US House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform (2006: 149).

18 United States of America (2007b).

19 Hoffert in US House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Energy of the Committee on Science (2006: 91).

20 Morseletto, Biermann, and Pattberg (2016: 3).

21 See, particularly Heintz (2012).

22 ‘Language, images, and numbers are different means of world creation. They aim at making visible what is not accessible directly, and therein attribute factuality to the displayed. This applies particularly to numerical representations […]’. Heintz (2012: 7, translation J.S.). See also Luhmann (1990: 75).

23 Porter (2006: 1288).

24 Hulme (2014: 40, 43). See also: Morseletto, Biermann, and Pattberg (2016: 3); Weingart, Engels, and Pansegrau (2008: 13).

25 See, e.g., US Senate, Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (2007: 71, 85).

26 US House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform (2006: 73).

27 Fleming (2010: 253). According to a NOAA blog on climate change (Climate.gov), this sudden awareness might be reflective ‘of post-9/11 fears about how fast the future could turn grim’ (Fincham (2014)).

28 Previously, climate engineering had appeared on the US political record either by expert witnesses, or in some selected cases, by the executive branch (e.g., when in 2003, the Department of Energy gave notice on intent to prepare a so-called Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for its carbon sequestration program).

29 Tom Davis in US House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform (2006: 2).

30 For debates regarding the CCTP, see, e.g., US House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Energy of the Committee on Science (2003); US House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Energy of the Committee on Science (2006); US House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform (2006). For discussion regarding carbon sequestration programs, see, e.g., US Department of Energy (2004); US Senate, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (2007). Notably, we observe a conversation in the following, which was led by a Republican-dominated Congress, assessing the climate research program of a Republican administration that had proven notoriously averse to policy action on climate change. For the period between 2000 and 2006, when Tom Davis chaired the Committee on Government Reform, the committee was widely criticised for its lack of oversight over the Bush administration.

31 Barnett (2006).

32 US National Research Council (2012: 3).

33 CCTP’s strategic plan promised that ‘[u]nder this new structure, climate change science and climate-related technology research programs are integrated to an extent not seen previously. The Climate Change Science Program (CCSP), led by the Department of Commerce, was established to reduce the uncertainties in climate science and develop science-based resources to support decision makers. The Climate Change Technology Program (CCTP), […] led by the Department of Energy, was formed to coordinate the Federal Government’s portfolio of climate-related technology research and development activities, including technology deployment and adoption activities […] and to focus efforts on the subset of priority activities that are part of the President’s National Climate Change Technology Initiative’ (US Climate Change Technology Program (2006: IV)).

34 See, e.g., Turner and Isenberg (2018: 168).

35 Barnett (2006).

36 Bodman qtd in Barnett (2006).

37 US House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform (2006: 37); (US Climate Change Technology Program (2006: 122f., 127f.).

38 Chairman Davis in US House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform (2006: 4, emphasis added).

39 US House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform (2006: 2).

40 US House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform (2006: 2).

41 US House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform (2006: 2).

42 Van Atta in US House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform (2006: 99–100).

43 US House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform (2006: 2).

44 National Academies of Sciences (2007: 244).

45 Advanced Research Projects Agency (2017).

46 See, e.g., Czapla (2020).

47 Lane in US House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform (2006: 84).

48 Lane in US House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform (2006: 84).

49 Van Atta in US House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform (2006: 119).

50 George in US House of Representatives, Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (2007: 93f.); Green in US House of Representatives, Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (2009: 40); US Senate, Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (2007: 20, 24).

51 See, e.g., Schnare in US Senate, Committee on Environment and Public Works (2007: 64f.).

52 Andrews in US Senate, Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation, and Community Development of the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs (2009: 9, 38).

53 Romm in US House of Representatives, Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (2007: 29, 36).

54 Romm in US House of Representatives, Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (2007: 28).

55 Figdor in US House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Energy and Environment of the Committee on Energy and Commerce (2009: 113).

56 SOLAS qtd. by Romm in US House of Representatives, Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (2007: 151); US House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Energy and Environment of the Committee on Energy and Commerce (2009: 113).

57 US Senate, Committee on Environment and Public Works (2007).

58 See, e.g., Office of Senator Whitehouse (2016).

59 Schnare in US Senate, Committee on Environment and Public Works (2007: 64ff.).

60 Schnare in US Senate, Committee on Environment and Public Works (2007: 72); see also Carlin qtd. by Schnare in US Senate, Committee on Environment and Public Works (2007: 123).

61 Schnare in US Senate, Committee on Environment and Public Works (2007: 84).

62 Barrett (2008); Carlin (2007).

63 See, e.g., Schnare in US Senate, Committee on Environment and Public Works (2007: 66).

64 Green in US House of Representatives, Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (2009: 40ff.). In contrast to Schnare, both Lee Lane and Kenneth Green were invited again to testify. For the testimonies of Lee Lane, see US House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform (2006). For the testimonies of Kenneth Green, see US Senate, Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs, and International Environmental Protection of the Committee on Foreign Relations (2009); US House of Representatives, Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (2009); US House of Representatives, Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (2010); US House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (2010).

65 The hearings respectively address climate change adaptation in Africa in the USA and in ‘particularly vulnerable nations’ (US House of Representatives, Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (2009: 40ff.); US Senate, Subcommittee on International Development and Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs, and International Environmental Protection of the Committee on Foreign Relations (2009: 26); US House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health of the Committee on Foreign Affairs (2010: 60); US House of Representatives, Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (2010: 69f.)).

66 For George’s account, see US House of Representatives, Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (2007); for the accounts of Conover, Doney, and Feely, see US Senate, Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (2007).

67 Holdren merely suggested that ‘all of the possibilities’ of counteracting climate change need to be looked at, and ‘that geoengineering ideas should continue to be studied and evaluated in the scientific community, in case something more promising can be identified’ (Holdren in US Senate, Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (2009: 45)).

68 Figdor in US House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Energy and Environment of the Committee on Energy and Commerce (2009: 113).

69 Keller (2009: 8).

70 Sen. Mikulski in US Senate, Committee on Environment and Public Works (2007: 77).

71 Schnare in US Senate, Committee on Environment and Public Works (2007: 151f.).

72 Keller (2009: 95).

73 Keller (2009: 96).

74 Maasen and Weingart (2006: 6).

75 Keller (2009).

76 For the rise of the notion of scientists as managers or pilots, see also Bonneuil and Fressoz (2016: 87f.).

77 US House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform (2006); US Senate, Committee on Environment and Public Works (2007).

78 See, e.g., Schnare in US Senate, Committee on Environment and Public Works (2007: 66); Lane in US House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform (2006: 84–85).

79 NAS qtd. by Lane in US House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform (2006: 85); US National Academy of Sciences (1992: 433f.).

80 Barrett in US Senate, Committee on Environment and Public Works (2007: 109–20).

81 Carlin in US Senate, Committee on Environment and Public Works (2007: 121–27).

82 Carlin in US Senate, Committee on Environment and Public Works (2007: 122).

83 Schnare in US Senate, Committee on Environment and Public Works (2007: 64, 65, 67). For comparative economic perspectives in later years, see, e.g., US House of Representatives, Committee on Science and Technology (2009: 34f).

84 Referring to the Buesseler et al. study, Senator Culbersome suggested R&D into ocean fertilisation measures to prevent US politics from ‘driv[ing] America back to the industrial production levels of 1920’ (US House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies of the Committee on Appropriations (2009: 305)).

85 Schnare in US Senate, Committee on Environment and Public Works (2007: 71).

86 Barrett in US Senate, Committee on Environment and Public Works (2007: 113).

87 US House of Representatives, Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (2007); US Senate, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (2007); US Senate, Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development of the Committee on Appropriations (2009).

88 US Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (2003: 16552). For reference of the project, see also, e.g., US House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform (2006: 95). In 2011 and 2013, DuPont and Bank of America would join the partnership (US Global Climate and Energy Project 2017b).

89 Turner and Isenberg (2018: 33).

90 US Global Climate and Energy Project (2017a).

91 Antitrust Division, US Department of Justice (2003: 16552ff.).

92 US House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Energy of the Committee on Science (2003: 24); US Senate, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (2007: 20, 28); US House of Representatives, Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (2007: 95); US Senate, Committee on Environment and Public Works (2007: 69).

93 US Senate, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (2007: 45).

94 See, US House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Energy of the Committee on Science (2003: 21); US Senate, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (2007: 20).

95 See, e.g., US Senate, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (2007: 20).

96 See, e.g., US House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Energy of the Committee on Science (2003: 6, 21); US Senate, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (2007: 28).

97 See, e.g., Chadwick and others (2006); Equinor (2019); Massachussetts Institute of Technology (2019).

98 US Department of Energy (2017).

99 US Department of Energy (2004: 21515).

100 US Department of Energy (2004: 21515).

101 US Department of Energy (2017). In this context, the DOE also supported research into carbon capture and storage at the Sleipner gas field (US Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy (2009)).

102 US Department of Energy (2004: 21514).

103 US Department of Energy (2004: 21515).

104 US Department of Energy (2004: 21516). The program defines Oceanic Sequestration as ‘a range of technologies and methods employed to bind, store, or increase carbon dioxide uptake in the ocean. Such technologies may include deep ocean injection of captured carbon dioxide gas or the enhancement of free carbon dioxide uptake by marine ecosystems through ocean fertilization or other methods to enhance natural absorption processes’ (US Department of Energy (2004: 21514)).

105 International Maritime Organization (2007).

106 International Maritime Organization (2007); see also: Sagarin and others (2007: 7); Abate and Greenlee (2009: 558).

107 Russ George strongly disagreed with this narrative in his congressional testimony some weeks later: ‘what we have is we’ve received one fax from the EPA asking me to phone them. I telephoned them. I had about an hour long, informal phone conversation with them. The very next thing I heard […] about the EPA, was I received a telephone call from a reporter in Ottawa, Canada who said that a very radical environmental group called ETC based in Ottawa had handed the reporter the contents of the EPA’s presentation to the London Dumping Convention meeting in Spain that was taking place at that very moment and would I comment on the EPA’s criticism of our work’. (George in US House of Representatives, Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (2007: 150)).

108 International Maritime Organization (2007). The United States Ocean Dumping Act is the statute implementing the London Convention.

109 US House of Representatives, Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (2007: 150, 92); US Senate, Committee on Environment and Public Works (2007: 69).

110 George in US House of Representatives, Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (2007: 93).

111 US House of Representatives, Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (2007: 95).

112 George in US House of Representatives, Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (2007: 143).

113 US House of Representatives, Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (2007: 153).

114 US House of Representatives, Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (2007: 151).

115 George in US House of Representatives, Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming (2007: 147).

116 See, particularly, Mitchell (2002).

117 See also Abate and Greenlee (2009: 558).