Climate scientists are developing an umbrella-like shade the size of Argentina that would block the sun’s rays to mitigate the effects of global warming on Earth.
The wild idea comes from Israeli researchers who believe the shadow of a million square miles could lower Earth’s temperature by 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit within two years.
The team at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology is seeking up to $20 million for a 1,000-square-foot prototype, which they said could be completed by 2027.
The ‘sail’ would be more than ten million kilometers from Earth and move through space by opening and closing the shadow layer.
As researchers move forward with the proposal, critics said the cost of the “megastructure” would be staggering; the Israeli draft is expected to amount to trillions.
The ‘sail’ would be more than ten million kilometers away from Earth and move through space by opening and closing the shadow layer
The umbrella would consist of lightweight solar sails attached to a solar-powered vessel. The team did not share any details about the materials that will be used for the innovation
Harvard physicist Avi Loeb said of the project: “Establishing one of these ‘megastructures’ in space would be very expensive and require major international cooperation through reallocation of funds from military budgets to peaceful purposes.”
Dimming or blocking the sun to cool the Earth is a plan of many scientists.
In 2021, a $3 million initiative by Bill Gates revealed that it was intended to inject millions of tons of chalk into the stratosphere.
And last year, the White House announced it was open to plans to prevent sunlight from reaching the Earth’s surface, in an effort to halt global warming.
While none of these plans have fully come to fruition, the team in Israel expects to have a prototype within the next three years.
Yoram Rozen, who leads the plan, explains The New York Times: ‘We at Technion are not going to save the planet.
The team said it would design a special rocket to carry their sunshade into space. The device would sit folded inside the craft and open once it reaches its intended position
L1 is a position in space where the gravity of a two-body system such as the Sun and Earth produces enhanced regions of attraction and repulsion. That position will allow for a constant shadow over a gigantic part of our planet, according to the team
‘But we are going to show that it is possible.’
The project, called Cool Earth, would require a shade of 2.5 million units, but due to its size the team said it would have to launch a range of smaller shades.
The umbrella would consist of lightweight solar sails attached to a solar-powered vessel.
The team did not share any details about the materials that will be used for the innovation.
The massive canopy appears to be flexible, allowing the team to fold it into a vessel that will take it to the first Lagrange point (L1).
L1 is a position in space where the gravity of a two-body system such as the Sun and Earth produces enhanced regions of attraction and repulsion.
That position will allow for a constant shadow over a gigantic part of our planet, according to the team.
“(The demonstration satellite) will perform a variable movement towards the sun and back to Earth, by controlling the shade sail,” the team shared on its website.
‘In this way, the satellite will be able to maintain its position in space for a significant period of time, without dependence on complex propulsion systems.’
“(The demonstration satellite) will perform a variable movement towards the sun and back to Earth, by controlling the shade sail,” the team shared on its website
Although the sunshade could reduce warming while other strategies to combat climate change are pursued, some experts believe the venture is a waste of time.
Susanne Baur, a doctoral candidate at the European Center for Research and Advanced Training in Scientific Computation in France, told The New York Times that the massive umbrella “would be astronomically expensive and could not be implemented in time.”
On top of the costs, solar storms or asteroids could damage the shield, “resulting in sudden, rapid warming with disastrous consequences.”
Baur further explained that the trillions of dollars needed for the parasol would be better spent reducing global emissions and removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Morgan Goodwin, executive director of the nonprofit Planetary Sunshade Foundation, said shading is a possibility in the future because of the falling costs of space travel.
“We think that as the idea of umbrellas becomes better understood by climate people, it will become a pretty obvious part of the discussion,” said Goodwin, who is also senior director of the Sierra Club’s Angeles chapter.