It is, however, a mischaracterization to suggest that SCoPEx seeks to test geoengineering per se, that a geoengineered world is a desired outcome for the people involved in the project, or that SCoPEx itself could disturb the global climate system. We should also note Gates' involvement in the SCoPEx project is purely financial. Bill Gates' "Block The Sun" Scopex Balloon Launch Experiment In Sweden Hits A Snag As Environmental Groups Express Criticism . Lastly, they ask, who would get to decide how solar geoengineering is usedand how would such a decision be fair? Cocaine Bear Isnt the Only Animal Getting High. For these reasons, and because SCoPEx does not from a factual standpoint actually dim or block the sun, we rate the claim that Gates is funding research that "would help block out the sun" as "Mostly False.". Further research on this and similar methods could lead to reductions in risks and improved efficacy of solar geoengineering methods, write the authors of the paper. New Findings Warn Earth Could Break Key Warming Barrier In 2033, Should Climate Scientists Stop Doing Research? 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. Climate research, renewables and circularity, Solar engineering would see reflective particles. In an open letter, the 16 initiators of the Solar Geoengineering Non-Use Agreementall scholars in their own rightargue there are three main grounds for preventing the use of such technologies. USA TODAY has reached out to the poster for comment. In other words, it's a very small-scale project, far from the climate-altering claims about it that have surfaced on social media. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.). The arguments underlying these concerns are outside the scope of this article, but a central feature of misinformed reporting on SCoPEx involves conflating scientists' or activists' views on solar radiation management in general with fears about SCoPEx specifically. Daily Star, "Bill Gates hatches 'horribly stupid' plan to block out the Sun - just like Mr Burns," Feb. 21, 2022, David Keiths Research Group, "Fund for Innovative Climate and Energy Research," accessed Feb. 25, 2022, Harvards Solar Geoengineering Research Program, "Funding," accessed Feb. 25, 2022, Keutsch Group at Harvard, "SCoPEx," accessed Feb. 25, 2022, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, "New Report Says U.S. Should Cautiously Pursue Solar Geoengineering Research to Better Understand Options for Responding to Climate Change Risks," March 25, 2021, Natural Resources Defense Council, "The Dept. The team noted: "The test will pose no significant hazard to people or the environment. Bill Gates is working on a way to block the sun's rays so we prevent global warming. And thats what this news really is: keeping options open and exploring the ramifications of a radical technology. 1995 - 2023 by Snopes Media Group Inc. 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. Carbon capture, where emissions are taken and sequestered beneath Earths surface, is another major form of geoengineering. One example is cloud seeding, where airplanes flush clouds with particulate matter in order to coalesce into rain. Gates is one of SCoPEx's funders, but he is not participating in the project's research. 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. Bill Gates funded the study. Gates himself has put his money where his mouth is, backing a Harvard University experiment to look at the effect of spraying particles into the stratosphere to, in theory, create a global cooling effect. In a report made by that body, Gates' involvement is noted, but the proportion of the project funded by Gates is not publicly disclosed. But the SCoPEx website says the current project's scope remains limited. SCoPEx,and geoengineering in general,aresomewhat controversial. At its core, SCoPEx seeks to better understand the efficacy and risks of solar geoengineering. Advertisement - story continues below Now, apparently, he wants to save us from the sun. 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. For his part, SCoPEx researcher and Harvard Professor Frank Keutsch has argued that concerns like these are unsupported by scientific research and motivated more by fears about geoengineering being a problematic, pro-fossil fuel solution to global warming. radiation, lowering the Earth's temperature by 0.6 degrees Celsius (33.08 degrees Fahrenheit.) If given the go-ahead, the experiment could take place in June, 2021, from the Esrange Space Center in Kiruna, Sweden. Now, a recycled claim says Gates aims go even higher literally. 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 considered. Scientists say this lack of concrete information and consensus is a critical failure that must be corrected with new studies. But now, Harvard says its delaying the study to examine the impact on Sweden itself, as well as the indigenous Sami people who live in the region. The most the experiment would seek to do is release two kilograms (4.4 pounds) of non-toxic dust from a weather balloon 12 miles high in the sky. These Experts Say Yes. Proponents of geoengineering have cited the global cooling effects of volcanic eruptions that result from the introduction of sulfuric ash into the atmosphere. But the same factors that make solar geoengineering a radical idea make it almost impossible to test, even on the small scale. 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. Bill Gates is investing in research to build sun-dimming technologies which could reverse global warming. With Bill Gates attempt to block out the sun, I dont believe Texas winter storm was a fluke . 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. If it encourages more fossil emissions by masking the climate pain they cause, then it is addictive because every ton of extra fossil carbon emissions increases climate risks, thereby increasing the demand for geoengineering to mask the pain. So what should humanity do about it? The ultimate aim is not to roll out some major solar geoengineering apparatus, but to collect data that will better inform computer models, researchers said. As we see tha. Aerosols are the gaseous clouds formed by particles of many common materials. Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. 3 min read. 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. Thunberg: Not too late to act in Climate fight, Climate Activist Greta Thunberg appeared virtually before a House subcommittee Thursday to call on U.S. officials to do more, saying it's "not too late" to make real changes in the fight against climate change. ", USDA is predicting egg prices will be $12 a dozen by fall 2022.. For example, no credible scientist is arguing that SCoPEx, by releasing 4.4 pounds of chalky power 12 miles above the arctic, will, as the Daily Mail put it, "trigger a disastrous series of chain reactions, creating climate havoc in the form of serious droughts and hurricanes, and bring death to millions of people around the world." The claim that solar geoengineering is an effort to "block out the sun" is inaccurate; the technology is a riff on a naturally occurring process. The article shared in the Facebook post also falsely claims that the experiment will "kick off in June." This week, the influential National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) also released a new report urging the U.S. government to spend at least $100 million to study solar geoengineering, a controversial technology. Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. The Earth is warming rapidly as a result of human-caused emissions. The experiment involves launching a high-altitude balloon about 12 miles into the atmosphere, according to its website. "Bill Gates is attempting to block the sun in order to keep the Earth more cool." Days later, on Monday night, Tucker Carlson dog-whistled to conspiracy theorists, telling Fox News viewers that "your body" is "Bill Gates' body now," because the Microsoft founder is helping to fund global COVID-19 vaccination efforts. 1.5K. Solar geoengineering, also known as radiation management, is based on the idea of using technologies to fight climate change by reflecting sunlight back into space. Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has been supporting a wide array of research on geoengineering since 2007, ScienceInsider has learned. Almost any everyday substance can be aerosolized in the right conditionsthe term is simply any airborne fine particulate that can float in clouds like a gas. ", Ultimately, Keith said that more study was needed, writing: "It would be crazy to start deploying solar geoengineering today. Geoengineering and Bill Gates blocking out the sun. 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. Geoengineering techniques such as solar radiation management (SRM) could be part of a future technology portfolio to limit global temperature change. He's also known for wanting to save us from ourselves. Weitere Informationen ber die Verwendung Ihrer personenbezogenen Daten finden Sie in unserer Datenschutzerklrung und unserer Cookie-Richtlinie. In that piece, the outlet represented a Harvard University project named SCoPEx, partially funded by Gates, to be a catastrophic threat to humanity and a literal test of a form of geoengineering known as solar radiation management releasing aerosols into the atmosphere as a way to cool the planet and counter global warming. But harmless only goes so farthe repercussions of solar geoengineering arent necessarily found in the material released, but in the unexpected effects of mixing ingredients into the stratosphere. "The laws governing Agenda 2030 land development allows the government to seize polluted lands and move their residents to smart cities., Bill Gates hatches 'horribly stupid' plan to block out the Sun - just like Mr Burns, Fund for Innovative Climate and Energy Research, New Report Says U.S. Should Cautiously Pursue Solar Geoengineering Research to Better Understand Options for Responding to Climate Change Risks, Stratospheric controlled perturbation experiment: a small-scale experiment to improve understanding of the risks of solar geoengineering, No, Bill Gates did not outline 2018 plan to depopulate the planet, No, the Gates Foundation isnt pushing microchips with all medical procedures, Bill Gates Will Have to Wait a While to Block the Sun, Bill Gates Is Thinking About Dimming the Sun, Claims that Bill Gates is going to block the sun lack context, Solar Geoengineering Should be Investigated, Scientists Say.