The Biden administration is considering whether to reverse climate change by managing the amount of sunlight hitting the earth. According to a White House report given to Politico, the administration is open to a practice sometimes known as “solar geoengineering” or “solar radiation modification” (SRM).
Bouncing back sunlight into space is Biden’s plan.
Yes, really.
The White House announced in a report, “This document focuses on atmospheric-based approaches to solar radiation modification (SRM), specifically stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) and marine cloud brightening (MCB).”
In the 44-page report, the White House explicitly added that it was not considering “mirrors in space” or “local-scale measures to increase surface reflectance (e.g., ‘white roofs’).”
Critics of solar geoengineering have pointed to the lack of evidence about its effectiveness.
In both parties, these critics have also faulted the plan for ignoring issues like air pollution caused by the Canadian wildfires.
Proponents of geoengineering have described it as an insurance policy against an even greater risk, and they’ve promised to include other nations in the plan, too. (Really, guys! China is going to get on board!)
Regardless, hardly anyone expects this plan to actually happen. The White House released this report only after Congress’s order to review the practice, and the Biden administration has denied any immediate plans to alter its energy policies. “There are no plans underway to establish a comprehensive research program focused on solar radiation modification,” the White House has said.
Even the proponents of this pie-in-the-sky plan have expressed low expectations.
“The fact that this report even exists is probably the most consequential component of this release,” Shuchi Talati, executive director of the Alliance for Just Deliberation on Solar Geoengineering, told Politico. “This report also signals that the U.S. government is supportive of well-governed research, including outdoor experimentation, which I think is quite significant.”
Talati once served in Biden’s Energy Department. “I think trying to avoid politicization around geoengineering is also important,” she added.
This is the stuff of science fiction.
The Horn editorial team