Collaborative for the Earth Hosts First Screening of ‘Plan C for Civilization’

More than 30 community members and Stony Brook University affiliates gathered at the First United Methodist Church in Port Jefferson for the first public screening of Plan C for Civilization, a documentary that examines the science, ethics and global risks of solar geoengineering.

Hosted by Stony Brook University's Collaborative for the Earth (C4E) in partnership with the Port Jefferson Arts Council, the February 11 event marked the beginning of the film's tour and invited audiences to mull over one of climate science's most controversial ideas: deliberately cooling the planet by reflecting sunlight back into space.

Kelly Klein of the Port Jefferson Arts Council kicked off the evening by thanking community partners and emphasizing the importance of audience feedback. Audience members were given surveys to help shape the filmmakers' impact campaign.

Participants were asked before the showing of the film whether they felt hopeful about the future of the environment, and whether they were familiar with terms such as solar radiation management and geoengineering - taking a quick snapshot of the varying perspectives in the room.

The evening's speakers were filmmaker Ben Kalina, an assistant professor at Drexel University, and Reuben Kline, associate professor of political science at Stony Brook and director of the Center for Behavioral Political Economy.

Ben Kalina, film director of Plan C for Civilization, speaking with Reuben Kline, professor in the Department of Political Science at Stony Brook University, after the screening of the film hosted by the Port Jefferson Arts Council and Stony Brook's Collaborative for the Earth. Photo by J.D. Allen.

Kalina's documentary follows scientists at the center of solar geoengineering research, including debates over proposed stratospheric experiments and the political tensions that surround them.

During the post-screening discussion, Kalina reflected on the long development of the project and how his own thinking evolved as global emissions continued to rise.

"There's what we want or wanted," Kalina said, "and then there's the world that we're in right now. And so that's the type of cards that we have to think this through with."

He emphasized that the film intentionally avoids taking an advocacy stance. "I have no interest in telling people what to think about the subject, because I certainly don't have the answers myself," he said. Instead, he hopes the documentary lingers with viewers and encourages continued reflection.

Kline, whose research focuses on fairness and public consensus toward climate policy, described geoengineering as one option within a much larger climate "portfolio."

"If you look at these temperature scenarios… lots of the ones that keep us under two degrees don't necessarily involve solar geoengineering," Kline said. "But they definitely involve some sort of carbon capture: bringing carbon out of the atmosphere." Given the lifelong span of carbon dioxide, he noted, some form of intervention may be necessary in addition to reducing emissions.

Audience questions ranged from Indigenous consultation in proposed research projects to the risk of private groups deploying geoengineering technologies without proper precautions.

Kline addressed concerns about governance structures, noting that serious international frameworks for regulating solar geoengineering do not yet exist.

"There hasn't been a serious effort yet… to get a public information campaign and get people to think about it as a possibility," he said.

The conversation also turned to the film's portrayal of a small startup attempting to release sulfur dioxide balloons independently, a move that drew both humor and concern from audiences.

Heather Lynch, Endowed Chair for Ecology and Evolution at the university's Institute for Advanced Computation Science (IACS) and a leader within C4E, suggested that while the pair may appear unconventional, their approach reflects a longer tradition in scientific discovery.

"Science is not pretty. It's often not well-regulated. It takes people who are willing to take big risks," she said. "I think it's worthwhile looking back in history and thinking about how all of these amazing inventions happened, and whether they would even be possible within the framework of regulation in government and universities and their incentives."

Kalina acknowledged the fear that discussing geoengineering could create a "moral hazard," reducing urgency around cutting emissions, but argued that the conversation itself may have the opposite effect.

"Once they tell people about it, some experiments show the opposite happens," Kline added. "People say, 'If we have to do that, then we should really do something else first.'"

As the evening concluded, Klein thanked Kalina for bringing the film to Port Jefferson, acknowledging the challenge of distributing documentaries that ask audiences to sit with uncertainty rather than providing definitive answers.

"I don't know about you," she told attendees, "but I'm going to have a lot to think about."

- Lily Miller