It would be unwise to deny the existence of Global Warming. The proof of the rapid planetary temperature spike can be seen all over the world. To mitigate the harms caused by the inevitable climate change, many scientists partner up with philanthropists to create or develop projects that will at least try to combat the climate crisis.

Among the many brilliant minds that work hard on creating a solution against extreme and irreversible impacts of the environmental emergency is Microsoft's founder Bill Gates.

Bill Gates Plans to 'Cover the Sun' to Solve Global Warming; Is it Possible?
(Photo : Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)
Bill Gates Plans to 'Cover the Sun' to Solve Global Warming; Is it Possible?

Along with other billionaire philanthropists, Bill Gates is funding a project that aims to cover, or at least dim the Sun, to counter the effects of global warming. The project is called SCoPEX (Stratospheric Controlled Disturbance Experiment).

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SCoPEX

SCoPEX is a geoengineering project where non-toxic calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is sprayed in the atmosphere in large volumes.

It is a scientific experiment that advances the understanding of stratospheric aerosols that could be important for the practice of geoengineering.

Atmosphere
(Photo : Zoltan Tasi on Unsplash)

Doing so would technically blanket the planet from the Sun's intense heat. In a way, it is covering up the Sun.

Is it possible?

Harvard scientists are proposing a test flight this upcoming June 2021 where research balloons will be dropping a relatively small amount of chalky dust in the air to observe its effects.

This first flight would not inject the particles; it would only be a dry run of the steerable balloon and instruments needed to study chemical reactions in the stratosphere, the calm, cold layer more than 10 kilometers up.

Even so, the project, called the (SCoPEx), must first win the approval of an independent advisory board, a decision that could come in February 2021.

According to Harvard's energy and climate scientists and one of SCoPEX's lead scientists, David Keith, there is a need to study the actual effects of releasing the reflective particles in the atmosphere to predict what could go right and wrong for the project.

Solar geoengineering is no substitute for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, he says, but it could ameliorate the worst damage of global warmings, such as the extreme heat waves and storms that claim many lives today. "There is a real potential, maybe a significant potential, to reduce the risks of climate change this century-by a lot."

SCoPEX will not come in cheap; that is why the scientists are being backed by big-time philanthropists.

Backers and Donors

Among the top backers of the SCoPEX project is Microsoft founder Bill Gates. This is not the first time scientific and academic organizations have partnered up with prominent business personalities. To ensure that such costly initiatives will come into fruition, researchers and scientists team up with philanthropists to develop their projects.

It's not just Bill Gates that has been doing partner-ups like these. Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Tesla's Elon Musk, and Amazon's Jeff Bezos have also donated their fair share of revenue to the scientific community.

These big companies are essential in the battle against global warming. It's from them that large-scale emissions are generated, and it is only fair that they spend significant investments in mitigating the consequences of their actions.

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