CLIMATE zealots are cooking up a Bond-villain-style plan to block out the Sun with millions of tons of mysterious particles.
The outlandish idea of Solar geoengineering, which remains largely speculative, involves reflecting a portion of sunlight away from Earth.
It is a hare-brained scheme that claims to halve future temperature rises by “dimming” the light from the Sun.
The idea, also known as stratospheric aerosol injection, was cooked up by a team at Harvard University several years ago.
And critics warn it could have catastrophic effects on our planet, sparking a wave of deadly droughts and hurricanes.
It has not actually happened yet, apart from small experiments involving balloons.
And the idea remains as fringe as it sounds.
Climate warriors aim to mimic the natural cooling effect of volcanic eruptions using sunlight-reflecting particles.
Their theory is based on the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines.
A massive volcanic mushroom cloud of ash and other particles from the volcano blocked the sunlight so much that it temporarily cooled the Earth’s atmosphere by a few tenths of a degree.
Scientists could create a thick cloak of mysterious particles, which would be sprayed into the atmosphere by a machine strapped to an enormous helium balloon.
Millions of tiny chemical particles sprayed out by the machine would act like a mirror to reflect the Sun’s rays into space.
Placing ten of these balloons around the globe could cut global temperatures by 2C in just two years, according to some estimates.
But many scientists believe the sudden temperature drops could trigger droughts, extreme rainfall, or hurricanes in some regions.
Millions of tiny chemical particles sprayed out by the machine would act like a mirror to reflect the Sun’s rays back into space.
Placing ten of these balloons around the globe could cut global temperatures by 2°C in just two years, according to some estimates.
But many experts believe the sudden temperature drops could trigger droughts, extreme rainfall, or hurricanes in some regions.
A US-Israeli startup called Stardust is now preparing to bring the idea to life.
Its website said: “Stardust particles are made of components which are abundant in nature, chemically inert in the stratosphere, and safe for humans and ecosystems.
“The particles naturally return to Earth’s surface over time and recycle safely back into the biosphere.
”We are developing a fully-integrated system for tunable deployment that includes high-altitude deployment capability, atmospheric monitoring sensors, and predictive modelling.”
The Simpsons show made an eerie prediction about solar geoengineering 31 years ago.
In the 1995 episode Who Shot Mr Burns? Part One, Mr Burns creates a similar device – but for evil motivations.
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He blocks the sun to force the residents of Springfield so that he could force them to use his Nuclear Power Plant energy.
It led to widespread outrage, and he was shot dead by a gunman.
