Bill Gates Is Backing Technology To Block Out The Sun
A large balloon will be released in Sweden this summer near the Arctic town of Kiruna. As it climbs to an altitude of 12 miles it will cross a historic threshold: the first serious attempt to explore whether global warming could be kept in check by dimming the sun.
The balloon will drop particles of calcium carbonate — chalk dust, essentially — to see if releasing them into the stratosphere could eventually deflect a portion of the sun’s energy and lower temperatures on Earth.
Funded by private donors including Bill Gates, it has already given rise to fierce debate. Critics argue that working on this type of “solar geoengineering” will backfire by giving politicians an excuse to delay cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
