A company developing solar geoengineering – blocking radiation from the sun to cool the planet – recently revealed its recipe for the particles that would be released into the atmosphere. Stardust Solutions, founded in 2023, has received $75 million from investors and has applied for a patent for its technology. It continues to perform laboratory tests of its materials and methods.
The concept is to release particles into the upper atmosphere from high-flying aircraft and these particles could reflect a small amount of sunlight away from Earth, thereby cooling the planet a small amount. The particles are made from amorphous silica – already used in many consumer products – and calcium carbonate, a compound found in eggshells and limestone. Exposure to the Stardust Solutions material appears to be harmless.
But the problem with solar geoengineering using any approach is its unintended consequences. What would be the environmental impact beyond lowering the global temperature? Nobody knows. Solar geoengineering could tamper with weather patterns, damaging food production, and local economies.
More than 600 scientists and academics have called for an international ban on solar geoengineering. Tennessee and Florida have banned it and a bill has been introduced in Congress that would do the same. At the very least, direct governmental action should be required before any such technology is deployed. But which government? And who has the authority or even ability to intercede if there is widespread opposition? We all share one planet, so geoengineering would affect us all.
