These Experts Say Yes. Meanwhile, for a new prepublication report, the NASEM convened a committee of 16 international science luminaries to develop solar geoengineering research. "Bill Gates hatches 'horribly stupid' plan to block out the sun," says the headline on a Feb. 21 article on the Daily Star website. Freezing temperatures in 1815 led to failed crops in near-famine conditions. BBC News edited out boos in footage of Boris Johnson arriving at the Queens Platinum Jubilee thanksgiving service. Such assertions or implications are misleading in several regards described in detail below. Advertisement - story continues below Now, apparently, he wants to save us from the sun. As noted by Nature in 2018, the concept in a broad sense is designed to spray particles into the stratosphere that may cool the planet by reflecting some of the Sun's rays. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. For one thing, the methods could have unintended consequences on global weather patterns. Excessive aluminum in the brain. David Keith, a professor of applied physics and public policy at Harvard University, recognizes the very many real concerns of geoengineering. The test was originally scheduled for June 2021, but will be delayed until at least 2022. Franklin Jacome/Agencia Press South/Getty Images, lists Bill Gates as one of its philanthropic donors, Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. And its not just academics who object to the concept and practice of solar geoengineering. An effort to dim the sun to stop global warming has been scrapped by the Swedish Space Agency, who announced that the program, funded by Bill Gates, has 'divided the scientific community' and will therefore not be carried out. Some have alleged Gates wants to block the sun. Recently, social media users are claiming Gates is working to block the sun's rays to combat global warming. May 2021: Bill Gates, Harvard University back solar geoengineering to fight global warming. Instruments carried by the balloon monitorthat region for changes inaerosol density, atmospheric chemistryand light scattering. Caroline Delbert is a writer, avid reader, and contributing editor at Pop Mech. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Instead, the balloon would test properties of the hardware and software needed for future trials, including propellers, power, data, navigation and the communication systems. The worst case scenario is that humankind faces an extreme climate emergency, but knows nothing about even the long-shot ways to address it. In 2007, Gates created a grant-making research fund known as the Fund for Innovative Climate and Energy Research (FICER). Due to the controversial subject matter (more on that below) and the fact that it is privately funded, SCoPEx is overseen by an outside panel of advisers run by Harvard. Proponents of so-called solar geoengineering, such as tech billionaire Bill Gates, say techniques intended to block a portion of the solar radiation reaching the planet ought to be. Additionally, the project is not working to block or dim the sun. Rather, the project seeks to understand the potential risks of geoengineering. Your membership is the foundation of our sustainability and resilience. STOP HIM. The Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment (SCoPEx), launched by Harvard University scientists, aims to examine this solution by spraying non-toxic calcium carbonate (CaCO3) dust into the atmosphere a sun-reflecting aerosol that may offset the effects of global warming. The Western Journals reporting, and other claims in its vein, reference or combine a December 2020 Reuters story with elements of a scientifically confused profile of the SCoPEx project published in 2019 by the British tabloid Daily Mail. Carbon capture, where emissions are taken and sequestered beneath Earths surface, is another major form of geoengineering. Measuring the ways that aerosols alter stratospheric chemistry can, for example, improve the ability of global models to predict how large-scale geoengineering could possibly disrupt stratospheric ozone. These are gathered under the umbrella term solar geoengineering. The most common and studied method is to reflect sunlight away from Earth using aerosol particles in the atmosphere, but until now, this has been seen as more of a fringe idea. District of Columbia That's what the Harvard project, called the Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment, or SCoPEx, aims to fix. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. It is not a test of solar geoengineering per se. Again, these temperature decreases bring with them serious risks. Bill Gates' Savior Complex Spirals Out of Control, Funds Sun-Dimming Plan To Save the Human Race, says concerns like these are not supported by science, Fact check: Bill Gates is not planning to microchip the world through a COVID-19 vaccine, Planned Harvard balloon test in Sweden stirs solar geoengineering unease, Bill Gates' Savior Complex Spirals Out of Control, Funds Sun-Dimming Plan To Save the Human Race, Could dimming the sun save the Earth? 1800 I Street NW Photo of electric charging station powered by diesel generator is emblematic of the electric vehicle movement. SCoPEx,and geoengineering in general,aresomewhat controversial. Gates and other private donors are supporting Harvard Universitys Solar Geoengineering Research Program, which had planned to launch a new study based in Sweden in June researching the efficacy of blocking sunlight from reaching Earths surface. One example is cloud seeding, where airplanes flush clouds with particulate matter in order to coalesce into rain. Hopefully, the different groups involved can come to an understanding and develop a pilot experiment that more people feel is ethically sound. But theres another nightmare: Its that after bringing emissions to zero, we realize in hindsight that early use of geoengineering could have saved millions of lives lost in heat waves and helped preserve some of the natural world," Keith wrote in an op-ed published in the Boston Globe. Harvard researchers proposed a small-scale experiment that would spray aerosols into the atmosphere to reflect some sunlight back into space, a technology aimed at minimizing global warming. While the mechanism of an aerosol solar geoengineering study is simplethe physical structure of aerosol particles literally blocks and scatters lightthe reality is more complex. Gates argument, as described during a 2010 TED Talk, is that humanity should not be in a position, if global warming gets bad enough that geoengineering needs to be taken seriously, where we do not have the research to fully understand the mechanics of that solution: If you get into that situation, it's like if you've been overeating, and you're about to have a heart attack. A small amount of material is then released to create a "perturbed air mass" about 100 yards wide and a half-mile long. Pinatubo eruption in 1991 , which temporarily cooled our planet by 0.5 degrees C. "One example is cloud seeding, where airplanes flush clouds with particulate matter in order to coalesce into rain.". The meteor strike that might have killed the dinosaurs blanketed the Earth in a layer of aerosol dust. Just as quickly as it was announced, a controversial solar geoengineering . Unlike sulfates, which can lead to ozone loss, calcium carbonate is not particularly reactive. Bill Gates Will Have to Wait to Block the Sun, Bill Gates Is Thinking About Dimming the Sun, USAF's Reactor Creates Jet Fuel Out of Water, Air, Bill Gates-backed sun-blocking experiment, solar geoengineering experiment backed by Bill Gates, Harvard Universitys Solar Geoengineering Research Program, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. One way of doing that is by pulling carbon dioxide. A new coalition of scholars wants the technology effectively banned. 3 min read. Primary source evidence proves the claim to be false. The first takeoff would not release aerosols into the skies, however. Instead, it will observe how particles interact with one another, with the background stratospheric air, and with solar and infrared radiation. Next, they say, the technologies could be used by governments or corporations to prevent work on other, less risky methods to combat climate change, such as reducing the use of fossil fuels. Is Bill Gates Funding Efforts To Block The Sun? The project originally was scheduled to have a test flight in Sweden in June 2021, but a Harvard advisory committee delayed it until at least 2022 in order to study potential impacts. Briefly, it is true that Gates has funded research that includes theoretical studies into the feasibility of solar radiation management. Bill Gates, who recently suggested the world should eat 100 percent synthetic beef and said bitcoin is bad for the planet, has set his sights on a new foe: the sun. Since 2007, Bill Gates has funded research initiatives that, in part, provide grants for experiments related to solar radiation management a form of geoengineering controversially proposed as a last-ditch solution to anthropogenic global warming. It's also easy to use and compact in size, making it easy to store when not needed. But the same factors that make solar geoengineering a radical idea make it almost impossible to test, even on the small scale. Is Russias Only Aircraft Carrier Cursed? What is solar geoengineering, anyway, and why are scientists suddenly interested inand concerned bythe concept? It sounds very much like the plot of one science fiction movie in particularnamely Bong Joon-hos 2013 film Snowpiercer, in which scientists release aerosols into the sky in a desperate bid to stop rampant global warming. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images). The indigenous peoples were successful, and the test was cancelled. Carbon capture, where emissions are taken and sequestered beneath Earths surface, is another major form of geoengineering. . The UN document correctly indicates that volcanic eruptions sometimes fill the skies with ash or sulfur, dim the sun for years, and lead to measurable global cooling episodes. Scientists say this lack of concrete information and consensus is a critical failure that must be corrected with new studies. The SCoPEx project is partially funded by the Harvard University Solar Geoengineering Research Program (SGRP), which lists Bill Gates as one of its philanthropic donors. Lets just say the plan doesnt work out as intended. February . "Geoengineering is a blanket term for technologies that try to alter Earths physical qualities on the largest scale possible," Popular Mechanics reported. Bill Gates Is Thinking About Dimming the Sun, Everything You Need to Know About the Sun, These Are the 13 Biggest Planes in the World, want scientists to study solar geoengineering, Harvard Universitys Solar Geoengineering Research Program, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. This is our End Times News Update for the week of Friday February 3rd, 2023. The experiment would measure the risks and effectiveness of the technology. Geo-Solar Engineering to Save the Planet By Nancy Thorner Reported by Frank Bergman on February 18, 2023: George Soros, worth 10 billion as of 2023, is pushing a plan to block the sun to fight climate change as a way to cool Earth's global temperature.. Soros outlined his plan during his address at the Munich Security Conference on Thursday, Feb. 17, 2023. The name of the project is SCoPEx, or, Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment . BILL GATES TOO. Gates, who dropped out of Harvard in 1975 to co-found Microsoft, has provided funding to the university for climate research since 2007. Bill Gates has provided undisclosed amounts of funding to academic research into solar geoengineering research, which in turn helps to fund the SCoPEx project. David Keith, a Harvard University professor also spearheading the SCoPEx project, said solar geoengineering will likely complement other carbon reduction methods, but noted it will be future generations that will ultimately have to live with the potential consequences. Researcher Chris Field writes: Chapters in the report include the role of philanthropists like Gates, the goals of preparing future political decisionmakers, and the state of existing research about solar geoengineering. Bill Gates is a popular target of conspiracy theories characterizing his charitable giving as evidence of a nefarious world domination scheme. Despite the concern, Keutsch is leading a project to study such technology, which could start later this year. Suggests a January traffic accident involving lab monkeys was responsible for spreading monkeypox to humans. The proposed Harvard experiment would use a high-altitude balloon to lift instruments into the atmosphere and release aerosols. Despite simmering on the internet in recent weeks, Google Trends data suggested that people are still searching for answers. The eclipse is the first total solar eclipse since August 2017. "The risks of solar geoengineering are poorly understood and can never be fully known," dozens of scientists wrote in an open letter to governments last year, imploring them to prohibit the technology. The billionaire is backing a study of the controversial technology called solar geoengineering. It's relatively budget-friendly (solar panels can get expensive fast) and it performs. This is why, SCoPEx says, most research has focused on an aerosol chemical already found in the stratosphere: sulfuric acid, which is a pollutant. SCoPEx is also partially funded by Harvard's Solar Geoengineering Research program, which is also funded by foundations and donors, including Gates. The current global governance system is unfit to develop and implement the far-reaching agreements needed to maintain fair, inclusive, and effective political control over solar geoengineering deployment, they say, noting that, for example, the United Nations Security Council, dominated by only five countries with veto power, lacks the global legitimacy that would be required to effectively regulate solar geoengineering deployment., Frank Biermann, professor of global sustainability governance at Utrecht University and one of the letters initiators, summed up the signatories stance by saying: Solar engineering is not necessary. Doing serious investigation of what its risks are and how well it could work provides the next generation with better information to make a more informed decision. An FAQ published on the SCoPEx site says: "This knowledge will improve large-scale models that will in turn improve estimates of the overall efficacy and risks of solar geoengineering. The world's richest man has provided at least $4.5 million of his own money over 3 years for the study of methods that could alter the stratosphere to reflect solar energy, techniques to filter carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere, and brighten . After much investigation, the team settled on using calcium carbonatechalk, essentiallyas an ideal light-blocking particle. Major disruption of the global climate could bring unintended consequences, negatively impacting highly populated regions and engineering another refugee crisis. Bill Gates Is Thinking About Dimming the Sun In late 2022, the startup Make Sunsets announced that it was injecting small amounts of aerosols into the stratosphere as an experiment in solar. Keith and fellow SCoPEx scientists published a paper in 2017 suggesting that the dust may actually replenish the ozone layer by reacting with ozone-destroying molecules. Thats hard to say right now, but all of the scientists and backers involved are only suggesting doing researchnot taking large-scale action. Considering the unknown risks attached to solar geoengineering, OECD members should continue in their efforts to develop economically attractive renewable energy technology, even as it supplements such efforts with limited and careful research and experimentation. But for some, the potential rewards of solar geoengineering in the face of a warming planet are clearly too tantalizing to resist, even when balanced against its unknown risks and fraught ethical implications. The letter goes on to call for five measures to be adhered to by the international community: no public funding for solar geoengineering; no outdoor experiments; no patents for solar geoengineering tech; no deployment of such tech; and no support for solar geoengineering from international institutions. Never far away from a plot to destroy, control and profiteer, since early last year Bill Gates and other private donors have funded Harvard University's Solar Geoengineering Research Program, SCoPEx, to study effective ways to block sunlight from reaching Earth's surface. One of the more controversial suggestions is that we should simply prevent so much heat reaching Earth in the first place. This material may not be reproduced without permission. Gates only connection to the research is through his donation to Harvards Solar Geoengineering Research Program, which is providing part of the funding for the project. If given the go-ahead, the experiment could take place in June, 2021, from the Esrange Space Center in Kiruna, Sweden. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. Now, concerned that science fiction could end up becoming science fact in all the wrong ways, an international coalition of researchers and campaigners has called for an end to solar geoengineering plans.