An article entitled “A Stratospheric Gamble” by Douglas Fox published in Scientific American on Oct. 1, 2023, describes the ongoing discussion and testing of the idea of shooting small particles of various chemicals into the stratosphere to reflect solar radiation, in the hopes of cooling the earth to combat global warming.

The article begins, “Global warming is so rampant that some scientists say we should begin altering the stratosphere to block incoming sunlight, even if it jeopardizes rain and crops.”

When Mount Pinatubo erupted in 1991, it ejected about 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2) into the atmosphere, slightly cooling the planet for a couple of years. Douglas Fox states that if sulfur dioxide were injected on a large enough scale – releasing perhaps one-fourth of that amount – one to two percent less sunlight would reach Earth’s surface.

Getting the sulfur dioxide high enough in the stratosphere to accomplish this goal is itself a challenge. No plane existing today can fly at that altitude, given the scarcity of molecules needed for lift. But scientists advocating for this operation believe that the B-47 Stratojet could possibly be modified within 7–10 years. To accomplish this task an entire fleet of these planes would have to be built. The projected cost of this operation is $18 billion per year for every degree of cooling produced. And this operation would have to be repeated every two years.

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