, Columnist
The Geoengineers Are Just Winging It
There’s no law to stop private companies from experimenting with Earth’s atmosphere, but you’d think common sense would be enough.
The air belongs to everyone.
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There is no law or treaty to prevent a private company from tinkering with geoengineering — in this case, releasing sulfur dioxide high in the stratosphere in order to alter the climate.
And so there will be no fines or arrests following the recent news that a startup quietly pulled off such a release last year by launching two balloons over Mexico. This sort of environmental manipulation can alter the energy balance between the sun and Earth. In the upper atmosphere, sulfur dioxide forms suspended particles of sulfuric acid that act to scatter sunlight and cool the planet.