The billionaire is financing a project to disperse chalk particles (calcium carbonate) into the atmosphere over some regions of our planet. In this way, the goal is to reflect some of the sunlight and to slow down and reduce global warming.
How did this idea come about?
Philippines, 1991. On June 15, almost half of the country was covered in darkness in broad daylight. Pinatubo volcano suddenly woke up for the first time in six centuries.
The first events began in April, with an emergency evacuation. However, nearly nine hundred people died – according to official figures.
These ominous clouds are sulfur dioxide. When it interacts with water vapor, sulfuric acid is formed in the air. The poisonous mist hung over the entire planet for many months after that. Years passed before the area around the volcano was again covered with vegetation.
Climatologists then recorded colds around the world: an average of half a degree Celsius. In a year and a half, the planet’s air temperature has returned to pre-industrial levels.
This is what led scientists to the idea that by spraying into the atmosphere, it can not only be heated but also cooled.
The idea inspired Harvard professors Frank Koich and David Keith in particular. It should be immediately mentioned that they did not like sulfur dioxide – not only is it toxic, but also destroys the ozone layer.
After the Pinatubo eruption over Antarctica, a giant ozone hole formed. So researchers have been looking for many years for a suitable analogue of the harmful substance, which both saves from the heat and is safe.
Even diamond powder was tried. Finally, experts have come to the conclusion that they have found the best option – calcium carbonate. Simply put, chalk.
What exactly is proposed to be done
Scattering of chalk particles in the stratosphere. They will reflect a lot of sunlight and therefore will not allow it to reach the earth’s surface. This is called solar geoengineering – changing the planet’s climate by manipulating solar radiation.
According to scientists, limestone in this sense is ten times more effective than sulfur dioxide and at the same time does not destroy, but, on the contrary, saves the ozone shield: it neutralizes harmful molecules.
If the calculations are correct, in this way it will be possible to reduce the air temperature by as much as one and a half degrees, that is, to actually fully compensate for global warming for the entire twentieth century. And all of this is reported to cost between one and ten billion dollars a year.
It is not specified whether the chalk will eventually fall to Earth and with what consequences. Scientists only claim that calcium carbonate is completely harmless, it is contained in paper and toothpaste.
At what stage is this project now
Currently, there is only a research activity called SCoPEx – Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment (stratospheric controlled disturbance experiment).
Plans include launching a balloon at a height of about 20 kilometers and spraying through it, for a start, from 100 grams to several kilograms of calcium carbonate.
As a result, a plume about a kilometer long and 100 m wide must form. The balloon will then fly through it again and measure the effectiveness of the light reflection.
Interestingly, the initial wish was for this to be done in the New Mexico desert in the southwestern United States in early 2019. But this did not happen and now the new plan is to test the balloon in Sweden in June 2021 г.
At the same time, scientists have specifically stressed that nothing will be sprayed at all – now the task is just to make sure that the aircraft is technically ready.
What is the role of the founder of Microsoft
According to Newsweek, Bill Gates’ financial participation in the project has been confirmed since November 2018. Nature in the same 2018 reported that at that time Professor Keith received $ 12 million “mainly from charitable sources such as Gates.”
How the world relates to this project
Ambiguous. Social networks are full of panicked posts about Gates wanting to “shut up the Sun.” Some countries fear a catastrophic cold snap and a lack of harvest.
For example, the governments of the United States, Brazil, and Saudi Arabia do not want to hear about solar geoengineering: they have blocked a UN resolution on the effectiveness and safety of solar eclipses.
Scientists acknowledge that the fears are understandable, but insist that there are no preliminary fears and that the pros and cons be calmly weighed.
“The idea is terrifying … But so is climate change,” said Lizzie Burns, one of Harvard’s team leaders in 2019.
Harvard is urging us to keep in mind that the planet’s HEATING emissions continue anyway, and if nothing is done, the “heat waves” will kill many people.
Scientists admit that the idea of calcium carbonate seems to them even “too good and attractive” – and now they are trying hard to find a flaw in it.
Translation and editing: BLITZ
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