Climate security

Scientists are looking at riskier ways to reverse climate change

Ken Caldeira is a climate scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science. He says the next year, “The planet was more or less a degree Fahrenheit cooler than it otherwise would’ve been despite the increasing rise in greenhouse gases.”

That’s because the tiny ash particles and aerosols that were blown into the stratosphere spread around the planet, blocking some of the Sun’s rays from ever reaching Earth. Less sunlight means less heat.

That got scientists thinking: Could we use the same principles to artificially cool the planet?

Theoretically, yes. And we already have the technology needed to do it.