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| Science & Technology |
| Bill & Melinda hope to dim the sun with stratospheric chalk dust |
| 2021-03-24 |
| [MAIL] The first test of a project backed to spray millions of tonnes of chalk into the stratosphere, in an attempt to 'dim the sun' and cool the Earth, could happen in June. Harvard University experts will test the system by sending a large balloon 12 miles above the Swedish town of Kiruna and have it drop 2kg of chalk dust into the stratosphere. 4.4 lbs The aim of the estimated $3 million mission, backed by billionaire Bill Gates, is to have the chalk deflect a portion of the sun's radiation, stop it from hitting the surface, and cool the planet. The idea has been heavily criticised since its inception, with project director Frank Keutsch even calling the need for this scale of geo-engineering 'terrifying'. And experts have warned that the unusual technique could be disastrous for weather systems in ways nobody can predict. Backed by a range of private donors including Gates, the test mission is launching from Sweden as they could offer a launch by the end of this summer. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #24 Bravo! |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2021-03-24 23:33 |
| #23 Bugs... off the pile... If all of our unionized teachers Would clap their erasers, and preachers Eat vegan and wiccan Instead of fried chicken While children crunch eight-leggéd creatures... Well, little will change, Which, sez Science, is strange, But to Bill these are wonderful features! |
| Posted by: Elmaising Ebboluque1499 2021-03-24 23:15 |
| #22 maybe, just maybe, he should stuff it where the sun dont shine |
| Posted by: 746 2021-03-24 23:02 |
| #21 Does this sound like Tintin villain plot or what? "Tintin Parmi Les Berserkers" |
| Posted by: Omomose Bourbon4064 2021-03-24 22:28 |
| #20 I remember reading Clancy's Rainbow Six and thinking the environmentalist baddies intent on world destruction were an unlikely concept. Now Thanos is doing the same thing and nobody really mentions it. |
| Posted by: ruprecht 2021-03-24 22:23 |
| #19 Impact on the Ozone??? |
| Posted by: Blackbeard Barnsmell6454 2021-03-24 20:27 |
| #18 Balloon... check. Chalk dust, 2 kg... check. Swed..ohh ho ho Sweden, ha ha... check. $3 million... check. Does this sound like Tintin villain plot or what? |
| Posted by: Dron66046 2021-03-24 20:06 |
| #17 I understand future updates to Windows95 will come with free aerosol chalk bombs. Enjoy yours for what it's worth. |
| Posted by: jpal 2021-03-24 19:23 |
| #16 We have |
| Posted by: Flinelet Uloluque5964 2021-03-24 16:43 |
| #15 Isn't this air pollution? And why on earth is it legal? |
| Posted by: Tom 2021-03-24 15:35 |
| #14 the 2kg figure appears in other accounts the idea is to create a parcel of air about 1km by 100m at an altitude of about 12 mile and monitor the chemical reactions and other processes I presume a control parcel will also be monitored the scale of this experiment means it will have essentially no impact on world wide weather or climate and we might find out something |
| Posted by: Lord Garth 2021-03-24 15:07 |
| #13 We have volcanoes that can do that at no charge |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2021-03-24 13:13 |
| #12 I read a book once called 'Rings of Ice' as i recall the story was that scientists roped in an ice asteroid and broke it up in orbit around the earth with the goal of focusing more sunlight on the earth (this was during the 'Global Cooling' of the 70's - 80's). Didn't work out well when the ice melted, fell to earth and triggered flooding. The people who were left ended up eating moss. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2021-03-24 12:52 |
| #11 until they can tell us what the temperature of the planet would be if humans never existed, they can keep their hands off the thermostat |
| Posted by: Bob Grorong1136 2021-03-24 12:50 |
| #10 Or is mass starvation the goal? Yes. |
| Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 2021-03-24 12:38 |
| #9 ^Nothing humans can do, at present, can't change the climate, Darth - we don't have enough midi-chlorians. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2021-03-24 12:38 |
| #8 Do they realize their precious plant based meat and diet is dependent on the amount of sunlight we have now? Or is mass starvation the goal? |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2021-03-24 12:24 |
| #7 The hand that controls the thermostat controls the world. |
| Posted by: jpal 2021-03-24 12:10 |
| #6 Wasn't this the plot for The Matrix? In the movie, "Snowpiercer" an all-too-successful geo-engineering attempt to stop 'global warming' plunged the planet into a minor ice age. Oopsie! General Rule for Doing Stuff: If you don't know what you are doing, don't do it on a large scale. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2021-03-24 10:46 |
| #5 Who gave Mr. "Nobody Needs More than 64K of Memory" permission to screw with the whole damn world? |
| Posted by: Mercutio 2021-03-24 10:12 |
| #4 Wasn't this the plot for The Matrix? |
| Posted by: Sheba Phavimble6636 2021-03-24 10:09 |
| #3 "Experts" |
| Posted by: Shiva Protector of the Hohlraums 2021-03-24 09:06 |
| #2 Waste of time. The next volcano will take care of that, with mucho CO2 free of charge. |
| Posted by: Clem 2021-03-24 07:48 |
| #1 Somebody misplaced a decimal point? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2021-03-24 04:13 |