Chaos Control: Climate Stabilization by Closing the Global Carbon Cycle

The central idea behind the control of chaotic systems is that the same feedbacks that destabilize a complex system producing chaotic dynamics can be used to relatively easily stabilize it. While many argue that the carbon cycle feedbacks are destabilizing the climate, it will be argued here that those same feedbacks can stabilize the climate. The controlling variable is the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere and the control strategy is to close the global carbon cycle of our planet, including human and planetary components, so the ambient concentration is fixed. The stabilization using CO2 capture from or release to the atmosphere requires less energy per year than used to stabilize the climate in our buildings and for less cost than 1 % of the global GDP. Closing the carbon cycle by using carbon from the air and hydrogen from water to make our energy sources, thus removing the current negative feedback between our energy use and the planet, enables us to use as much energy as we need. Thus chaos control of our climate transforms the threat of climate change into an opportunity for our species and our planet to flourish in the Anthropocene era.