In 1991, the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines released 20 million tons of sulfur aerosols into the atmosphere. Once soaring into the air, the particles reflect incoming sunlight back into space, and over the next two years the Earth’s temperature dropped significantly, potentially replicating this process intentionally to combat global warming. debate reignited.
Amidst the recent climate crisis, there have been countless arguments for and against the controversial form of geoengineering. However, experts generally agree on one point. That’s far from confidently conducting real-world testing in a way that reduces the potential for horrible, unintended environmental impacts. But Luke Iseman, CEO of his Make Sunsets startup, didn’t seem to stop trying in his Californian Baja late last year.
Last week, Mexico made it very clear that it has none of that.
Less than a month after news broke that Iseman had launched two small balloons containing less than 10 grams of sulfur dioxide without a license, the Mexican government’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources announced plans for future similar launches. announced a ban on solar geoengineering.As The Barge The ban, explained Wednesday, is aimed at protecting the country’s communities and the environment given the lack of current international regulations on similar experiments.
[Related: Is blocking out the sun a good solution to the climate crisis?]
Iseman’s test was very small — a commercial jet emits about 100 grams of sulfur dioxide per minute — for comparison, as Iseman himself admitted, “I’m not sure I could do it. It corresponded to the area of scientific projects for Iseman added that Make Sunsets didn’t even track the balloon to see if it rose high enough to successfully carry the payload.
Critics, of course, lashed out at the incendiary stunt, labeling it as “making Sunset hypocritical by violating her rights.” [local] Kelly Wanser, executive director of climate research nonprofit SilverLining, said: MIT Technology Review last month.
This is not to say, of course, that further variations in solar geoengineering cannot be explored, but they must be done responsibly, with good faith, and with sufficient transparency.Mr. Iseman talking The Bargetold them on Wednesday that all future launch plans for Making Sunsets are on “indefinite hold” for the time being.
