So this seems smart.
(Sarcasm intended.)
From the Guardian:
UK scientists are to launch outdoor geoengineering experiments as part of a £50m government-funded programme.
The experiments will be small-scale and rigorously assessed, according to Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria), the UK government agency backing the plan, and will provide 'critical' data needed to assess the potential of the technology. The programme, along with another £11m project, will make the UK one of the biggest funders of geoengineering research in the world.
Geoengineering: "The deliberate large-scale manipulation of an environmental process that affects the earth's climate, in an attempt to counteract the effects of global warming."
Sounds like the plot to a dystopian sci-fi novel if you ask me. And what better place to set the book than in the UK?
Let's see what they're going to do. 👇
Most geoengineering proposals aim to block sunlight reaching the Earth's surface, for example by launching clouds of reflective particles into the atmosphere or using seawater sprays to make clouds brighter.
Here's what that looks like:
And don't worry, the conductor of the study says it's not going to be that bad.
Prof Mark Symes, who is leading the Aria programme … said no toxic substances would be released, an environmental impact assessment would be published before outdoor experiments and that local communities would be consulted. Details of the projects funded by Aria are expected in a few weeks.
So they're apparently going to block out the sun. And what's the worst that could happen?
Well, let me introduce you to the "year without a summer," 1816.
The eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia in 1815 triggered a change in the global climate. The heavier material fell to the ground and the ocean's surface. However, when lighter particulates reached the stratosphere, they spread out and created an aerosol cloud the size of Australia.The cloud blocked sunlight from reaching the earth and changed the global climate by 2-7 degrees Fahrenheit, the effects of which devastated much of the world in what should have been the summer of 1816. Crops failed across Europe and the U.S. due to the cold or lack of sunshine causing grain and oat prices to soar, torrential rains flooded crops in Ireland, novel strains of cholera killed millions in India, crime became rampant, and people starved in many countries.
Now, this little experiment in the UK hopefully won't create a blockage the size of Australia, but simply looking at the outcome of this 1815 volcanic eruption is enough for me to say we should just let Earth do its thing and not mess with it by blocking the sun.
Also noted in the X comments is that this sort of experiment was actually the plot to the dystopian sci-fi film Snowpiercer, where "an attempt to stop climate change via stratospheric aerosol injection catastrophically backfires, creating a new ice age that destroys much of life on Earth."
Also, the Simpsons already did it:
Some comments:
Not to mention the fact that Brits (at least the white ones) will be more pasty-white at the conclusion of this experiment.
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