Tag: geoengineering

US and European Commission Call for “International Framework” to Advance Geoengineering Research

Geoengineering is a controversial science of manipulating the climate for the stated purpose of fighting man-made climate change. There are several types of geoengineering, including Solar Radiation Management (SRM) or solar geoengineering. Stratospheric aerosol injection, or SAI, is a specific solar geoengineering practice which involves spraying aerosols into the sky in an attempt to deflect the sun’s rays. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is currently developing a five-year research plan on solar geoengineering.

The White House document focuses on “atmospheric–based approaches” to SRM, specifically SAI and marine cloud brightening (MCB). The report focused on these specific geoengineering approaches because of their “greater near-term feasibility” and the “greater governance challenges of atmospheric approaches” relating to the “significant trans-boundary impacts.” In other words, because these methods involve spraying particles from planes in the sky they will impact people regardless of where the lines on the map are drawn.

The Biden White House notes that if US science agencies began supporting a “large-scale program” of SRM they “could consider engaging in appropriate international cooperation.” This international cooperation, the White House argues, could promote knowledge, research needs and results, resource savings, best practices, and reduce the prospect of “irresponsible experimentation and/or deployment.”

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White House cautiously opens the door to study blocking sun’s rays to slow global warming

The White House offered measured support for the idea of studying how to block sunlight from hitting Earth’s surface as a way to limit global warming, in a congressionally mandated report that could help bring efforts once confined to science fiction into the realm of legitimate debate.

The controversial concept known as solar radiation modification is a potentially effective response to fighting climate change, but one that could have unknown side effects stemming from altering the chemical makeup of the atmosphere, some scientists say.

The White House report released late Friday indicates that the Biden administration is open to studying the possibility that altering sunlight might quickly cool the planet. But it added a degree of skepticism by noting that Congress has ordered the review, and the administration said it does not signal any new policy decisions related to a process that is sometimes referred to — or derided as — geoengineering.

“A program of research into the scientific and societal implications of solar radiation modification (SRM) would enable better-informed decisions about the potential risks and benefits of SRM as a component of climate policy, alongside the foundational elements of greenhouse gas emissions mitigation and adaptation,” the White House report said. “SRM offers the possibility of cooling the planet significantly on a timescale of a few years.”

Still, the White House said in a statement accompanying the report, “there are no plans underway to establish a comprehensive research program focused on solar radiation modification.”

Skeptically or not, that the White House weighed in on solar experimentation at all is remarkable. The concept has created divisions among experts, with some saying it could be a last line of defense against runaway warming if nations fail to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, while others warn that it could result in an atmospheric substance dependency that, if stopped, could lead to abrupt increases in temperatures.

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Researchers launched a solar geoengineering test flight in the UK last fall

Last September, researchers in the UK launched a high-altitude weather balloon that released a few hundred grams of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere, a potential scientific first in the solar geoengineering field, MIT Technology Review has learned.

Solar geoengineering is the theory that humans can ease global warming by deliberately reflecting more sunlight into space. One possible means is spraying sulfur dioxide in the stratosphere, in an effort to mimic a cooling effect that occurs in the aftermath of major volcanic eruptions. It is highly controversial given concerns about potential unintended consequences, among other issues.

The UK effort was not a test of or experiment in geoengineering itself. Rather, the stated goal was to evaluate a low-cost, controllable, recoverable balloon system, according to details obtained by MIT Technology Review. Such a system could be used for small-scale geoengineering research efforts, or perhaps for an eventual distributed geoengineering deployment involving numerous balloons.

The “Stratospheric Aerosol Transport and Nucleation,” or SATAN, balloon systems were made from stock and hobbyist components, with hardware costs that ran less than $1,000. 

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Climate change activist goes rogue releasing ‘mini volcanoes’ to cool atmosphere

AMexico-based startup will next week launch sulphur particles into the stratosphere in a “rogue” move to create a “mini-volcano” effect it says could help cool the planet. 

The technique, known as stratospheric aerosol injection, mimics the impact of volcanoes by using a weather balloon to release sulphur, creating a cloud of particles that reflect the sun’s rays and have a cooling impact. 

It is one of several geoengineering techniques being studied as a way to cool the planet to avoid breaching internationally agreed limits on global warming. 

The amount of particles that start-up Make Sunsets plans to release in coming days, up to 2kg, will make a minimal difference to overall warming. 

But experts in geoengineering say the launches set a dangerous precedent for private companies or governments to interfere with the planet’s atmosphere. 

The company is backed by two venture capital funds, and is selling “cooling credits” to the public for $15 (£12), which it says pays for 1g of sulphur, expected to produce enough cooling to offset a ton of carbon emissions for a year. 

It released a first balloon in December in Mexico, but will next week launch from California, after the Mexican government released a statement criticising the first effort. 

Co-founder Luke Isemans said the potential risks of what he is doing are outweighed by the known threat of climate change. 

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Mexico Becomes First Nation to Admit Harms of Geoengineering, Halts Future Experiments

The Mexican government has announced a moratorium on solar geoengineering experiments following an unauthorized small-scale experiment by a U.S. startup. How will the decision impact the plans of globalists who aim to use geoengineering as a gateway to world governance?

Only weeks ago, Luke Iseman, the CEO of Make Sunsets, the company behind the experiment, announced to the world that he had released two weather balloons filled with reflective sulfur particles as part of publicity stunt meant to spark conversation around the science of geoengineering.

Geoengineering is a controversial science of manipulating the climate for the stated purpose of fighting man-made climate change. There are several types of geoengineering, including Solar Radiation Management (SRM) or solar geoengineering.  Stratospheric aerosol injection, or SAI, is a specific solar geoengineering practice which involves spraying aerosols into the sky in an attempt to deflect the sun’s rays. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is currently developing a five-year research plan on solar geoengineering.

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Scientists Redirect Lightning Strikes Using a Weather-controlling Super Laser

Scientists in France have created a way to divert lightning strikes using a weather-controlling super laser.

Researchers with the Polytechnic Institute of Paris guided the strikes from thunderclouds to places where they don’t cause damage. The team says the new technique could save power stations, airports, launchpads, and other buildings from disaster.

The system creates a virtual lightning rod, metal conductors that intercept flashes and guide their currents into the ground.

“The findings extend the current understanding of laser physics in the atmosphere and may aid in the development of novel lightning protection strategies,” says corresponding author Dr. Aurelien Houard, according to a statement from SWNS.

The five-ton device is about the size of a large car and fires up to a thousand pulses per second. The scientists installed it near a telecommunications tower in the Swiss Alps – which is struck by lightning around 100 times a year.

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A startup says it’s begun releasing particles into the atmosphere, in an effort to tweak the climate

A startup claims it has launched weather balloons that may have released reflective sulfur particles in the stratosphere, potentially crossing a controversial barrier in the field of solar geoengineering.

Geoengineering refers to deliberate efforts to manipulate the climate by reflecting more sunlight back into space, mimicking a natural process that occurs in the aftermath of large volcanic eruptions. In theory, spraying sulfur and similar particles in sufficient quantities could potentially ease global warming.

It’s not technically difficult to release such compounds into the stratosphere. But scientists have mostly (though not entirely) refrained from carrying out even small-scale outdoor experiments. And it’s not clear that any have yet injected materials into that specific layer of the atmosphere in the context of geoengineering-related research.

That’s in part because it’s highly controversial. Little is known about the real-world effect of such deliberate interventions at large scales, but they could have dangerous side effects. The impacts could also be worse in some regions than others, which could provoke geopolitical conflicts. 

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White House Quietly Reveals 5-year Plan to Spray Particles in the Sky to Dim the Sun

Earlier this month, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) quietly revealed its plan to cool the Earth by reflecting sunlight back into space, The plan was tucked neatly away within the thousands of pages of the Consolidated Appropriations Act and the OSTP was directed by Congress to complete it.

The White House is now requesting comments on its plan for geoengineering which includes multiple intervention protocols, namely spraying aerosols into the stratosphere to reflect sunlight back into space.

What was once the subject of dystopian fiction is now being kicked around as official policy and most Americans are entirely unaware. Nearly three years ago, TFTP reported on the plan by Congress, which began under Donald Trump, to procure funding for this type of research.

The top climate change scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration received $4 million in funding from Congress along with permission to study two highly controversial geoengineering methods in an attempt to cool the Earth. According to Science Magazine, David Fahey, director of the Chemical Sciences Division of NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory, said that the federal government is ready to examine the science behind “geoengineering”—or what he dubbed a “Plan B” for climate change.

Now, they’ve set a deadline for the research and the mad scientists are likely chomping at the bit to get started. As CNBC reported:

Harvard professor David Keith, who first worked on the topic in 1989, said it’s being taken much more seriously now. He points to formal statements of support for researching sunlight reflection from the Environmental Defense Fund, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the creation of a new group he advises called the Climate Overshoot Commission, an international group of scientists and lawmakers that’s evaluating climate interventions in preparation for a world that warms beyond what the Paris Climate Accord recommended.

Though the White House is now laying out its plans for geoengineering, the idea of dimming the sun is nothing new and dates back to a 1965 report to President Lyndon B. Johnson entitled “Restoring the Quality of Our Environment.”

Since then, global think tanks and special interests have been pushing for some sort of geoengineering plan all across the planet.

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Biden administration coordinating research into ways to dim the sun

In an effort to curb so-called global warming, the Biden administration is coordinating research into the feasibility and efficacy of blocking out the sun, at least partially.

On March 15, President Joe Biden signed Congress’ “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022” into law, providing funding for a five-year research plan to be coordinated by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OTSP).

The OTSP, whose deputy director for Climate and Environment was recently sanctioned by the National Academy of Sciences, will work in concert with relevant federal agencies on its “scientific assessment of solar and other rapid climate interventions in the context of near-term climate risks and hazards.”

According to the White House, the “report shall include: (1) the definition of goals in relevant areas of scientific research; (2) capabilities required to model, analyze, observe, and monitor atmospheric composition; (3) climate impacts and the Earth’s radiation budget; and (4) the coordination of Federal research and investments to deliver this assessment to manage near-term climate risk and research in climate intervention.”

CNBC reported that the efficacy of various solar geoengineering (SG) climate interventions will be studied, including stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), whereby aerosols are sprayed into the stratosphere to block and reflect sunlight back into space.

Spraying sulfate aerosols and other reflective substances (e.g., calcium carbonate particles, aluminum dioxide, or diamonds) into the atmosphere, around 12-16 miles above the Earth, can accomplish what volcanic eruptions have otherwise achieved in the way of partially blocking sunlight and temporarily cooling global mean temperatures.

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Scientists propose controversial plan to refreeze North and South Poles by spraying sulphur dioxide into atmosphere

Scientists have outlined a controversial plan to refreeze the North and South Poles, and dial down the global thermostat.

They say high-flying jets could spray microscopic aerosol particles into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight and cool the melting icecaps.

Around 175,000 flights a year would be needed, releasing millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide.

But a former UK chief scientist backed the plans, telling Sky News that polar warming is now critical – and refreezing the ice could hold back the rise in global sea levels.

The new study was led by Wake Smith from Yale University in the United States.

He warned the plan would treat an important symptom of climate change, not the cause.

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