Humans found difficult to stop fossil fuels, which is why some claim that we will soon need to start geoengineering, that is to change the atmosphere to prevent the catastrophic heating of the planet.
The practice is controversial. Some argue that it is the only given solution that we have waited too long to reduce carbon emissions. Others say that we should not perform two uncontrolled experiments on the terrestrial climate (the first is the global combustion of fossil fuels).
This did not prevent people from trying. And an approach supported by Sunsets attracted the attention of the United States environmental protection agency.
The start is basically two guys from Silicon Valley who have released meteorological balloons full of hydrogen and sulfur dioxide particles. When the balloon floats somewhere over 66,000 altitude feet, breaks out and releases the particles of sulfur dioxide, which scatter and reflect sunlight, cooling the earth a little.
The company sells “cooling credits” based on the estimated amount of heating that each release of balloons denies. Make Sunsets collected $ 750,000, according to PitchBook, and the startup says that his investors include Boost VC, Draper Associates and Pioneer Fund.
Neither founders is a scientist, but the science behind the aidride of sulfur and sun reflectivity is solid. Humans accidentally demonstrated the importance of sulfur dioxide in the global albedo – the average reflectivity of the earth’s surface – when they cut the sulfur content of marine shipping fuels in 2020; An important climate scientist discussed in favor of the practice.
However, given the complexity of the global climate, it is not clear what other effects could have the practice. It could sow temporal in a region by depriving other rain areas. Several scientists have urged caution.
In addition, if the sulfur dioxide particles approach more on the ground, they could aggravate people’s asthma and cause other respiratory problems. Here, the EPA is questioned with the approach of sunsets to geoengineering. Sulfurous anhydride is regulated as atmospheric pollutant. The administrator of the Lee Zeldin said this week that the agency is investigating the company.
Making the sunsets claim that his actions are legal. In an FAQ on its website, the company says: “Yes, our method to cool the land is part of the 1976 time modification of the time and reports every year to Noaa of our sides as required”.
The law has blurred here, though. When it was written, the law on the modification of time was probably intended to cover the practice of sowing clouds, in which particles such as the silver iodide are affected in the clouds to induce rain or snowfall. Most of the meteorological changes today are made by entities such as ski stations and irrigation districts in the West. It is not clear how the law applies to the modification of the climate.
However, while the EPA could be justified in its investigations, it is not exactly consistent with Zeldin’s approach to pollution.
The efforts of the agency to increase coal will probably generate much more pollution from sulfur dioxide than what the sunsets release with its balloons. A balloon for sunsets released on November 15, 2024, released 1,715 grams of sulfur dioxide. In 2023, the US power plants released 650,000 tons in the atmosphere, most of which came from coal. This is approximately the same amount of 343,900,000 startup balloons.
