New doc explores whose solutions we should trust in our fight against climate change

For decades, scientists have been toying with the ultimate question: “How can we cool the planet?” Apocalypse Plan B, a documentary hosted by Canadian academic and activist David Suzuki, dives into radical ways some scientists are hoping to combat a warming world.

One is physicist David Keith, who wants to dim the sun by using jets to spray layers of sulphur into the stratosphere 24-7. The technique is supposed to bounce sunlight into space. The idea is built as a simulation of volcanic eruptions, which send sulphur into the air, lowering the temperature on Earth.

“It's insanity,” Suzuki told Canada’s National Observer. “We think we're so goddamn smart we can take over the atmosphere and treat it in a way that will correct the problem we already created from being too smart.”

Clearly, Suzuki is not on board with the plan. He’s not afraid to show it, either. Viewers can see it when filmmakers Mark Starowicz and Caitlin Starowicz pit the Davids against one another in a scene overlooking snow-capped mountains. It's there that Suzuki calls Keith’s methods a manipulation of the natural world.

Dr. Sarah Doherty of the University of Washington’s ideas stomp on similar grounds as Keith’s. Her idea is bright — literally. It's called marine cloud brightening. The proposed solution is to use sea salt projected from large ships to brighten clouds, which then would reflect the sun into space and offset global warming from greenhouse gas emissions.

For Indian physicist Dr. Vandana Shiva, messing with the sun is yet another form of the west’s attempt to impose its ideas on the rest of the world. Blocking the sun, she says, basically curses “80 per cent of humanity and all the beings on this earth who depend on the green leaf for their survival on this planet.”

“It's not solving the basic problem,” Suzuki tells Canada’s National Observer. “We don't even take the first steps that are needed, namely, don't make it worse.”

He explains the need for a Plan B because simpler solutions that require stopping fossil fuel burning and deforestation are ignored.

With humanity producing 10 gigatonnes of carbon annually – which, for perspective, is similar to a four-kilometre block of coal over New York's Central Park – the film demonstrates that change is needed, and fast.

“All kinds of people are suffering…because of our inability to rein in our fossil fuel emissions and then to use them as the excuse to continue this line of work that allows the fossil fuel companies to continue. That is absolutely disgusting,” adds Suzuki.

To hear podcast host David McKie’s full interview with Canada’s cherished icon David Suzuki, make sure to tune into upcoming episodes of Hot Politics. Suzuki picks a bone with the fashion and food industries, recounts his long career with the show The Nature of Things and reflects on the future he sees for his grandkids’ generation.

You can catch up on all the previous episodes of Hot Politics on Apple Podcast, Spotify or your favourite listening app.

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Apocalypse Plan B is available to watch on CBC Docs.