billionaire founder Bill Gates is financially backing the development of sun-dimming technology that would potentially reflect sunlight out of Earths atmosphere, triggering a global cooling effect. Fluoride.. Is Russias Only Aircraft Carrier Cursed? Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. The test was originally scheduled for June 2021, but will be delayed until at least 2022. We need your help. Bill Gates's PR companies are again reporting on a UN study that is Tosca Austen on Twitter: "RT @ToscaAusten: Bill Gates, farmer The meteor strike that might have killed the dinosaurs blanketed the Earth in a layer of aerosol dust. A controversial, Bill Gates-backed sun-blocking experiment has been postponed for ethical reasons. 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." Sweden Scraps Bill Gates' Geoengineering Plot To Block The Sun. Microsoft founder Bill Gates delivers a speech at the conference of Global Fund to Fight HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria on October 10, 2019, in France. US geoengineers to spray sun-reflecting chemicals from balloon Meanwhile, for a new prepublication report, the NASEM convened a committee of 16 international science luminaries to develop solar geoengineering research. In theory, solar geoengineering is based on the idea that experts can reduce the impact of global warming by reflecting sunlight back into space using chemicals. 33701 In terms of solar radiation management, that is not the case. Further, a diffuse cloud of chalky powder gently perturbed by a propeller-driven weather balloon 12 miles above the arctic is in no way capable of altering the global climate system. Claim that Bill Gates is scheming to block the sun is wrong If Your Time is short Harvard researchers proposed a small-scale experiment that would spray aerosols into the atmosphere to. ", USDA is predicting egg prices will be $12 a dozen by fall 2022.. (Photo by Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images). Outdoor experiments can provide in situ perspective that is impossible to obtain in the laboratory and SCoPEx can help us validate important model parameters that have yet to been tested against measurements. Washington, DC After Reuters reported on the effort in December 2020, the conservative Western Journal published a piecetitled "Bill Gates' Savior Complex Spirals Out of Control, Funds Sun-Dimming Plan To Save the Human Race," in which the writer portrays the project as a threat to humanity. STOP HIM. And its not just academics who object to the concept and practice of solar geoengineering. The claim among Twitter users is that Gates' involvement with the academic project is somehow nefarious, and that he ultimately wants to "block the sun" from the Earth. One that has persisted in recent weeks involves an experiment by a team of scientists at Harvard University, known as the Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment (SCoPEx), that is testing aerosols that might be relevant to solar geoengineering. As such, the solar geoengineering technology used for SCoPEx is still at a theoretical stage as of . He's also known for wanting to save us from ourselves. Geoengineering is the term for technologies that try to alter Earths physical qualities on the largest scale possible. Unlike sulfates, which can lead to ozone loss, calcium carbonate is not particularly reactive. "We Must Block Sunlight To Save The Planet," Intones the United Nations A review is ongoing to determine if the proposed balloon launch alongside the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) can go ahead. Bill Gates has provided undisclosed amounts of funding to academic research into solar geoengineering research, which in turn helps to fund the SCoPEx project. In a report made by that body, Gates' involvement is noted, but the proportion of the project funded by Gates is not publicly disclosed. 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. If you live somewhere with low light, you might be worried that solar panels aren't for you, but these actually perform excellently in low light conditions. Bill Gates hatches 'horribly stupid' plan to block out the Sun - just Bill Gates backs climate scientists lobbying for large-scale geoengineering Other wealthy individuals have also funded a series of reports into the future use of technologies to geoengineer. The project is supported in part by philanthropist Bill Gates through SEAS's Solar Geoengineering Research Program. Aerosols are the gaseous clouds formed by particles of many common materials. And thats what this news really is: keeping options open and exploring the ramifications of a radical technology. Already, about 30% of the suns energy is reflected back into space by clouds and ice, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental nonprofit group. 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. That was an atmospheric aerosol event. Gates did not personally hatch a plan, nor is he or anyone scheming to block out the sun. Jan. 5, 2021, USA Today, "Fact check: Bill Gates is not trying to 'block the sun's rays' in the name of climate change," April 23, 2021, Wilson Center, "Solar Radiation Management," Sept. 20, 2020. One of the more controversial suggestions is that we should simply prevent so much heat reaching Earth in the first place. 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. They're capable of withstanding high winds and snow loads, they're anti-reflective, and extremely versatile. 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. Essay:Geo-Solar Engineering to Save the Planet - Conservapedia Alex Kasprak is an investigative journalist and science writer reporting on scientific misinformation, online fraud, and financial crime. Solar geoengineering involves using technology to try to reflect solar radiation back into space before it can interact with greenhouse gases. Digital IDs were given to residents in East Palestine, Ohio, to track long term health problems like difficulty breathing before the Feb. 3 train derailment. Is Bill Gates Funding Efforts To Block The Sun? | Snopes.com It is true that no one knows what will happen until the CaCO3 is released and then studied afterward. So how does that work???". Again, these temperature decreases bring with them serious risks. The speculative possibility of future solar geoengineering risks becoming a powerful argument for industry lobbyists, climate denialists, and some governments to delay decarbonization policies, the authors write. It's perhaps equally crazy to keep ignoring it. radiation, lowering the Earth's temperature by 0.6 degrees Celsius (33.08 degrees Fahrenheit.) Microsofts She's also an enthusiast of just about everything. It's also easy to use and compact in size, making it easy to store when not needed. A small amount of the substance, between 100g to 2kg, will be released to create an air mass roughly one kilometer long and one hundred meters in diameter. 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. If the plan is green-lit, a high-altitude balloon would disperse the mineral dust to study the viability, and risks, of solar geoengineering. SCoPEx is also partially funded by Harvard's Solar Geoengineering Research program, which is also funded by foundations and donors, including Gates. The full text of the Solar Geoengineering Non-Use Agreement can be read here. The stories or tweets generally assert or imply that: Bill Gates is funding research that will literally dim the sun; that he "wants to" use this form of geoengineering as a tool to fight climate change; that SCoPEx specifically seeks to test the theory that "spraying particles into the atmosphere" can reduce warming; and that scientists think SCoPEx itself could produce global unintended consequences. Geoengineering is a blanket term for technologies that try to alter Earths physical qualities on the largest scale possible. Aerosols are the gaseous clouds. In a 2010 Ted Talk, Gates argued that if society ends up in a position where global warming is bad enough that geoengineering needs to be taken seriously, it should already know and understand the process and its potential consequences. "JUST IN: Bill Gates next venture will try to spray dust into the atmosphere to block the sun. The ultimate aim is to measure how the aerosol alters stratospheric chemistry. Bei der Nutzung unserer Websites und Apps verwenden wir, unsere Websites und Apps fr Sie bereitzustellen, Nutzer zu authentifizieren, Sicherheitsmanahmen anzuwenden und Spam und Missbrauch zu verhindern, und, Ihre Nutzung unserer Websites und Apps zu messen, personalisierte Werbung und Inhalte auf der Grundlage von Interessenprofilen anzuzeigen, die Effektivitt von personalisierten Anzeigen und Inhalten zu messen, sowie, unsere Produkte und Dienstleistungen zu entwickeln und zu verbessern. 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. Weitere Informationen ber die Verwendung Ihrer personenbezogenen Daten finden Sie in unserer Datenschutzerklrung und unserer Cookie-Richtlinie. Concerned groups want a clearer understanding of consequences before the launch. It also has made him a. The exact amount of CaCO3 needed to cool the planet is unknown, and SCoPEx scientists similarly cannot confirm whether it is the best stratospheric aerosol for the job. Neither is it desirable, ethical, or politically governable.. It's made ofPET, EVA and monocrystalline silicon, and it'santi-reflective andhigh transparency. 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. A Bill Gates Venture Aims To Spray Dust Into The Atmosphere To Block 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. The Gates-supported study seeks to do exploratory, small-scale experiments in the atmosphere: Calcium carbonate is a plentiful and harmless mineral thats also the active ingredient in Tums. 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. Is Bill Gates Funding Efforts To Block The Sun? The incremental nature of SCoPEx cannot be understated. Keith, who manages a multimillion dollar geoengineering research fund provided by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, previously commissioned a study by a US aerospace company that made the case for the . The claim gained traction in mid-February as residents in the state of Texas faced deadly winter storms but continued to circulate on the social network this week. The Keutsch group planned its first test flight for June 2021, which would. SCoPEx is partially funded by Harvard's own Solar Geoengineering Research Program (SGRP), which lists Gates as one of its many philanthropic donors. Scientists say this lack of concrete information and consensus is a critical failure that must be corrected with new studies. The Harvard scientists had planned to launch a high-altitude balloon from Esrange Space Station in Kiruna, Sweden to test whether it could in future carry equipment to release solar radiation-reflecting particles into the Earths atmosphere, AFP reports. "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. "People are right to fear over-reliance on technofixes. Impacts will vary across regions, and there are uncertainties about the effects on weather patterns, agriculture, and the provision of basic needs of food and water.. Freezing temperatures in 1815 led to failed crops in near-famine conditions. "Bill Gates hatches 'horribly stupid' plan to block out the sun," says the headline on a Feb. 21 article on the Daily Star website. But in my view we have a duty to provide them with that information, so they can make those decisions in the face of really horrific climate risks.". One example is this April 8Facebook post, which reads:"Let me get this straight. Scientists have devised multiple ways to block sunlight from reaching Earths atmosphere or surface. Primary source evidence proves the claim to be false. Climate research, renewables and circularity, Solar engineering would see reflective particles. 727-821-9494. stated on February 21, 2022 in an article: "Bill Gates hatches 'horribly stupid' plan to block out the sun", stated on February 20, 2023 in an Instagram post. Instead, the balloon would test properties of the hardware and software needed for future trials, including propellers, power, data, navigation and the communication systems. Your membership is the foundation of our sustainability and resilience. How Bill Gates Became a Favorite Target for Conspiracy Theorists - Insider (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.). Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has been supporting a wide array of research on geoengineering since 2007, ScienceInsider has learned. These claims have. The balloon will be used to measure resulting changes, including atmospheric chemistry. But there's another nightmare: It's 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. Bill Gates-funded Study to Dim Sunlight May Be Needed - Newsweek May 2021: Bill Gates, Harvard University back solar geoengineering to fight global warming. Conspiracy spillovers and geoengineering - sciencedirect.com Fact check: Bill Gates is not trying to 'block the sun's rays' - USA TODAY 801 3rd St. S The Justice Department has been calling parents that are concerned about what their kids are being taught, they are labeling them terrorists., Sen. Marco Rubio signed a 2021 letter that supports waivers that would reduce visual track inspections.. The experiment involves launching a high-altitude balloon about 12 miles into the atmosphere, according to its website. As Popular Mechanics noted, "(A)ll of the scientists and backers involved are only suggesting doing researchnot taking large-scale action.". 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. 20006, Florida These models, the SCoPEx website explains, "are the primary tool for estimating the risks and benefits of solar geoengineering." One example is cloud. Yet the debate over solar geoengineering is likely to persist, as it enjoys the backing of wealthy individuals such as Gates, and the support of key scientific institutions, including the powerful U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which is urging the U.S. government to set up a federal research program to advance the technologies to the tune of up to $200 million. The process is not without controversy, as some experts have voiced fears that blasting chemicals into our immediate orbit tampers with the natural order, making weather less predictable or threatening populations' food supplies by causing drought. A new coalition of scholars wants the technology effectively banned. Bill Gates' "Block The Sun" Scopex Balloon Launch Experiment In Sweden Hits A Snag As Environmental Groups Express Criticism . One goal of the project has always been to explore the real implications of this technology before we need it, because its never a good idea to launch an untested mechanism at a time of crisis. Its called solar radiation management, or solar geoengineering. Although . As previously detailed by Snopes, a fact-checking organization, the assertion is largely based on sensationalist reports about the scope and ability of the SCoPEx project. Early research suggests that the substance has near-ideal optical properties that would allow it to absorb far less radiation that sulfate aerosols, causing significantly less stratospheric heating. of Solar Radiation Management," Jan. 25, 2015, Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society, "Stratospheric controlled perturbation experiment: a small-scale experiment to improve understanding of the risks of solar geoengineering," 2014, PolitiFact, "No, Bill Gates did not outline 2018 plan to depopulate the planet," May 3, 2018, PolitiFact, "No, the Gates Foundation isnt pushing microchips with all medical procedures," May 20, 2020, Popular Mechanics, "Bill Gates Will Have to Wait a While to Block the Sun," April 12, 2021, Popular Mechanics, "Bill Gates Is Thinking About Dimming the Sun," March 26, 2021, Poynter, "Claims that Bill Gates is going to block the sun lack context," April 15, 2021, Scientific American, "Solar Geoengineering Should be Investigated, Scientists Say," March 26, 2021, Snopes, "Is Bill Gates Funding Efforts To Block The Sun?" 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. The Swedish Space Corporation has agreed to help launch a balloon close to the town of Kiruna, Forbes reported. Harvard scientists intend to block out the sun's rays from earth as a way to help stave off climate change. The billionaire is backing a study of the controversial technology called solar geoengineering. Bill Gates Sun Blocking Study Postponed | Solar Geoengineering The first takeoff would not release aerosols into the skies, however. Bill Gates Will Have to Wait a While to Block the Sun - Yahoo! News Wenn Sie Ihre Auswahl anpassen mchten, klicken Sie auf Datenschutzeinstellungen verwalten. Despite simmering on the internet in recent weeks, Google Trends data suggested that people are still searching for answers. The article shared in the Facebook post also falsely claims that the experiment will "kick off in June." COVID-19 was created in a lab by EcoHealth, funded by Fauci and Gates, with Wuhan/CIA/DARPA. Unproven technology to block sun's rays raises practical, ethical The most commonly proposed method is to use aerosols "the gaseous clouds formed by particles of many common materials" because the physical structure of their particles blocks and scatters light, according to Popular Mechanics. I cover energy, security, Europe, Russia/Eurasia & the Middle East, The Sun setting into a pall of forest fire smoke, over Alberta from fires in BC and elsewhere, on August 17, 2018 This shows the dimming and reddening of the Sun as it set, with it disappearing from view long before it reached the horizon This was from home in southern Alberta, and is a Lighten blend mode stack of 20 images taken at 10 minute intervals, and shot on Auto Exposure with the Canon 6D MkII and 35mm lens The frames are part of a larger 200-frame timelapse processed with LRTimelapse. Bill Gates wants to spray millions of tonnes of dust into the stratosphere to stop global warming but critics fear it could trigger calamity, The world needs to explore solar geoengineering as a tool to fight climate change, SCoPEx: Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment, Stratospheric controlled perturbation experiment:a small-scale experiment toimprove understanding of therisks of solar geoengineering, Claims that Bill Gates is going to block the sun lack context, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. What is solar geoengineering, anyway, and why are scientists suddenly interested inand concerned bythe concept? Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has funded a project to study such a technology. The 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia resulted in the year without a summer, while the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines lowered global average temperatures by 0.5 C. Deliberate introduction of similar particles could potentially counter decades of greenhouse gas emissions. The moon partially covers the sun in a cloudy sky during a solar eclipse on 2 July 2018 in Quito, Ecuador. Why Trust Us? But there is no suggestion he is in favor of blocking all sunlight from reaching Earth. "Geoengineering is a blanket term for technologies that try to alter Earths physical qualities on the largest scale possible," Popular Mechanics reported. 60 Scientists Want to Block the Sun: Solar Geoengineering Facts Instruments carried by the balloon monitorthat region for changes inaerosol density, atmospheric chemistryand light scattering. But if we dont understand how solar geoengineering will affect the world, by the time we need it as an option in our climate playbook, it will be too late. Bill Gates Will Not Be Blotting Out the Sun This Week - The Daily Dot Despite the concern, Keutsch is leading a project to study such technology, which could start later this year. Bill Gates, Harvard, To Begin Blocking Sun In Spring Of 2019. The eclipse is the first total solar eclipse since August 2017. But even this flight still months away and pending approval from Harvard's outside advisory committee is only a test of the balloon, and would not release its theoretical payload of just under 3 1/2 pounds of calcium carbonate powder. International cooperation will be required to assess the risks, winners, and losers of any such experiment, and how best to proceed with all in mind. Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. released into the stratosphere to reflect the sun's light back into space, theoretically cooling the planet. The science has spoken. Scientists have postponed the billionaire-backed study of the controversial technology called solar geoengineering. 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. David Keith has proposed the creation of a risk pool to compensate smaller nations for collateral damage caused by such tests, but such a payout might be little comfort to those displaced by unlivable conditions. Just as quickly as it was announced, a controversial solar geoengineering experiment backed by Bill Gates has . To refine these models, scientists need to know how the aerosols interact with the atmosphere on a nanoscale. Scientists have devised multiple ways to block sunlight from reaching Earths atmosphere or surface. 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The geoengineering project is an attempt to cool the earth's overall temperature. The ultra-rich are on a mission to Show more . First, they point to the unknown risks: deploying solar geoengineering tech could backfire, potentially catastrophically. 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. Then where do you go? Environmentalists similarly fear that a dramatic shift in mitigation strategy will be treated as a green light to continue emitting greenhouse gases with little to no changes in current consumption and production patterns. The experiment would measure the risks and effectiveness of the technology and is not an effort at widespread implementation. I'm not sure that's wise, given the importance of the problem, but there's now the geoengineering discussion about: Should that be in the back pocket in case things happen faster, or this innovation [in sustainable energy] goes a lot slower than we expect? The project at issue in several sensationalized news stories, SCoPEx, is an experiment designed to collect data for the purpose of refining computer models that simulate solar radiation management, not to implement an actual test of the practice. The post referstoHarvard'sStratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment, orSCoPEx, which is financially backed by Gates. The experiment is funded in part through Harvards Solar Geoengineering Research Program, and Bill Gates is among the donors to that program. This technology would trigger a global cooling effect," blared a viral tweet from RapTV, an . Widespread use of technology that dims natural sunlight to help fight climate change should only be used as a last resort, scientists have warned. Update 01/22/2022 GMT1240: This post has been updated to clarify the Carnegie Climate Governance Initiatives stance on solar geoengineering technologies, as noted by C2G executive director Janos Pasztor. In other words, it's a very small-scale project, far from the climate-altering claims about it that have surfaced on social media. According to the team, the design for future SCoPEx flights required a balloon that can fly a 600 kg payload close to an altitude of 12 miles.