White House report signals openness to manipulating sunlight to prevent climate change
Posted For: The Ebonics Translator
By Gabriel Hays
A research document published on the White House website reveals the Biden administration is open to studying how to block sunlight to save the Earth from climate change.
The congressionally mandated report released by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy on Friday shows that the team has been researching “geoengineering” methods to keep the sun rays from accelerating global warming.
As the University of Oxford notes in its entry on the subject, “geoengineering” is “the deliberate large-scale intervention in the Earth’s natural systems to counteract climate change.”
According to the report titled “Congressionally-Mandated Report on Solar Radiation Modification,” the types of geoengineering methods the Biden administration is looking into are “stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) and marine cloud brightening.” Additionally, the paper mentions there is research in “cirrus cloud thinning.”
The introduction to the report indicated that research into “space-based approaches” has not been occurring as “geoengineering” is easier to implement.
The document read, “The focus on atmospheric approaches also follows from their greater near-term feasibility relative to space-based approaches.”
There is no government policy attached to this document yet as it’s just a research document.
It reads, “This Research Plan focuses on improving understanding of the potential impacts of SRM, rather than on technologies needed for deployment. Much of this research would contribute to our ability to understand basic climate processes and effects of human greenhouse gas emissions, as well as outcomes of SRM.”
The summary continues, “A program of research into the scientific and societal implications of solar radiation modification (SRM) would enable better-informed decisions about the potential risks and benefits of SRM as a component of climate policy.”
The document did acknowledge that it could pave the way for future government or corporate projects in this field: “Such a research program would also help to prepare the United States for possible deployment of SRM by other public or private actors.”
The report also says, “SRM offers the possibility of cooling the planet significantly on a timescale of a few years.”
In a separate statement, the White House assured readers that “there are no plans underway to establish a comprehensive research program focused on solar radiation modification.”
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