Climate change plan B: dimming the sun

DISMISSED a decade ago as far-fetched and dangerous, schemes to tame global warming by engineering the climate have migrated from the margins of policy debate towards centre stage.

SOLAR RADIATION MANAGEMENT

The goal is simple: prevent some of the sun’s rays from hitting the planet’s surface, forcing them instead back up into space.

One idea worthy of a Star Wars sequel would assemble giant orbiting mirrors to deflect a bit of Earth-bound radiation.

A more feasible scheme — experiments are scheduled for next fall in Arizona — would inject tiny reflective particles into the stratosphere.

Nature sometimes does the same: Debris from the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines lowered the planet’s average surface temperature for a year or two afterwards.

Scientists have also calculated ways to alter clouds that could help beat the heat…

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