White House mulls blocking sunlight to curb greenhouse warming.

The White House is considering a bold approach to combat climate change: blocking sunlight. While this may sound like something out of a science fiction movie, it’s actually a real proposal being explored by the White House. Solar radiation modification (SRM), also known as solar geoengineering, aims to prevent sunlight from exacerbating global warming.

The idea is to reflect a greater amount of incoming solar radiation back into space, effectively cooling the planet. The White House believes that this technique could significantly reduce the negative consequences of climate change in just a few years. However, experts warn that such initiatives could have devastating effects on the environment.

According to a report published by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, SRM offers the possibility of cooling the planet, but the ramifications of these actions are still poorly understood. The report acknowledges that there are potential negative consequences, including changes in stratospheric temperatures, rising sea levels, acidification of oceans, alteration in precipitation patterns, and impacts on terrestrial vegetation, biodiversity, ecosystems, crop production, and coral reefs.

Despite these concerns, the White House is considering the “possible deployment” of SRM through public or private actors. However, it’s important to note that SRM will not undo the consequences of greenhouse gas emissions or other manifestations of climate warming.

In January last year, a group of scientists and scholars called for an international non-use agreement on solar engineering, arguing that these technologies are risky, poorly understood, and should not be further developed or normalized. They expressed concerns about the potential militarization and security implications of solar geoengineering.

Methods of SRM and US Implementation

The White House document outlines various methods for deploying SRM initiatives. One method is stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), which involves increasing the amount of aerosols in the stratosphere to reflect sunlight away from the Earth.