In a new theory to combat climate change, researchers say that launching moon dust into space can stop global warming.
Researchers at the University of Utah have tried several strange methods to combat climate change, including building a huge floating solar farm and feeding cows with seaweed, but the strangest thing so far is the use of moon dust.
Scientists have concluded that releasing millions of tons of moon dust into the atmosphere can mitigate global warming, according to Euronews.
Moon dust.. How can it cope with climate change?
Scott Kenyon, a co-author of the study, said that the launch of moon dust into space could shadow the Earth.
He added: The release of highly porous and thin moon dust will be easier than the release of earth dust due to its lighter mass.
According to Ben Bromley, a professor of physics and astronomy and the lead author of the study, the researchers were inspired by the idea of the rings that surround some planets such as Saturn, as they are made of astronomical dust, and they are visible to us because they intercept and reflect light.
The study says: Once the launch facilities are established on the moon, large amounts of dust can be loaded quickly and continuously.
Bromley notes that the proposal would mimic a scenario that occurred during the Little Ice Age, when France was ruled by Louis XIV. You would need a lot of dust, but as long as you could get it into space, it would essentially reduce solar radiation.
Why moon dust?
“Lunar dust has stood out for two reasons,” Bromley explained. “Firstly, it can become very effective at scattering sunlight, and secondly, it turns out to be the most efficient and most abundant dust particles on the moon’s surface.”
Bromley said: If we can establish the infrastructure to the surface of the moon, the release of dust from there will be much easier because of the weaker gravity of the moon compared to Earth.
He added: If we reach a point where dimming the sun is a necessary step, then lunar dust should be explored as an option, despite the technological challenges.
logistical defects
As Euronews reports, the plan sounds like something out of a science fiction novel, but the idea has some serious logistical flaws.
For dust to have a significant impact on global warming, dust would have to block 1 to 2% of the sun’s rays, and this would require the release of nearly ten billion kilograms of dust annually – about 700 times more mass than ever released by humans. .
Fortunately, we don’t have to shoot dust into space to fight climate change, we just have to stop drilling for and burning fossil fuels, and we have 380 billion tons of carbon dioxide left in the global carbon budget.
This is the amount of carbon dioxide we can emit, and we still have a 50% chance of avoiding 1.5 degrees of warming.
Global greenhouse gas emissions reached 58 billion tons in 2022 alone.
