The Sunday Story: Startups want to cool Earth by reflecting sunlight

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🗓️ 28 April 2024

⏱️ 31 minutes

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Summary

From brightening ocean clouds to launching sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere, some entrepreneurs and scientists are testing technology that could reflect sunlight back into space to combat global warming. There's evidence some types of solar geoengineering could lower global temperatures a lot. But along with potential benefits come huge potential risks. Experts say the science isn't settled and regulations aren't keeping up. Today on The Sunday Story, a journey into the world of solar geoengineering.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm Aisha Roscoe and this is the Sunday story.
0:04.0	Last year was the hottest year on record for the Earth,
0:08.0	another sign that global warming is here.
0:11.0	People are desperately searching for solutions. Many are trying to stop the burning of fossil fuels, but some believe we also could engineer our way out of the climate crisis.
0:22.0	Joining us now is Julia Simon. our way out of the climate crisis.
0:23.0	Joining us now is Julia Simon, NPR's Climate Solutions Reporter.
0:28.0	Welcome to the podcast, Julia.
0:30.0	Thank you for having me, Aisha.
0:32.0	So I understand you're going to introduce us to two guys in California who say they have a simple but effective way to cool the planet.
0:42.0	Yeah, a few months ago I went to this parking lot on the outskirts of Silicon Valley.
0:47.0	I walked up to this gray RV where I see this guy in a beanie and a puffy jacket.
0:55.0	Nice to meet you.
0:56.1	His name's Andrew Song.
0:57.5	How are you doing?
0:59.4	And then I meet Luke Eisman.
1:01.9	Messy Mohawk hairstyle orange t-shirt that reads Cool Earth.
1:06.7	I'm Julia.
1:08.0	Nice to meet you, Luke, how are you?
1:10.8	They show me inside the RV, these big metal tanks full of helium and
1:15.4	sulfur dioxide gas. Luke takes a wrench and opens them. The gases flow into this
1:22.0	long tube.
1:24.0	Andrew, he's outside the RV, holding the tube
	...

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