Controversial White House study looks at deflecting the sun's rays to cool climate
In a move that critics have all but dismissed as insane, the Biden administration released a study on "geoengineering" as a way to fight climate change.
According to Fox News, the report was released last week by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and discusses making changes in the Earth’s natural systems as a way to lower temperatures.
Study looked at deflecting the sun's rays
Titled the "Congressionally-Mandated Report on Solar Radiation Modification," is reviews the feasibility of "stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) and marine cloud brightening" as well as "cirrus cloud thinning" as strategies to deflect the sun's rays.
Remember 'Owning the weather in 2025'? Almost therehttps://t.co/VYx6BY4Mdu
— Federico Demicheli (@FreddyDemicheli) July 2, 2023
"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," the report states.
"The focus on atmospheric approaches also follows from their greater near-term feasibility relative to space-based approaches," it continues.
"This Research Plan focuses on improving understanding of the potential impacts of SRM, rather than on technologies needed for deployment," the document explains.
White House says it has no immediate plans on on solar radiation modification
It insists that this "research program would also help to prepare the United States for possible deployment of SRM by other public or private actors."
If SRM proves successful, then the report contends that it "offers the possibility of cooling the planet significantly on a timescale of a few years."
However, Fox News did note that the White House did release a separate statement in which it assured that "there are no plans underway to establish a comprehensive research program focused on solar radiation modification."
That the administration would feel the need to issue such clarification may reflect widespread apprehension over efforts to deliberately alter the planet's temperature.
Some worry that changing the Earth's natural systems "could go wrong"
Apprehension was expressed by some Twitter users, with one arguing that those who support doing so would "have to be brain damaged," asking, "If it were to go wrong, then what?"
You'd have to be brain damaged to think "solar radiation modification" is a good idea. If it were to go wrong, then what?https://t.co/jtYBBs89cJ pic.twitter.com/rYQs4HJQyd
— Steve Maley (@DerekBarge) July 2, 2023
Meanwhile, conservative commentator Kyle Becker echoed that sentiment, deriding the report's subject matter as being "ridiculous."
The White House has expressed openness to a ridiculous proposal aimed at blocking sunlight from reaching the Earth’s surface in an effort to ‘combat global warming.’
In a report released on Friday, the White House presented the concept of solar radiation modification (SRM) as a…
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) July 2, 2023