Will Elon Musk Be the Sun King or Icarus?

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If the planet is heating up so rapidly, why not just dim the sun? That’s the premise behind the burgeoning field of solar geoengineering, which is figuring out ways to cool the Earth. This can be done via space mirrors to deflect the sun’s rays or through stratospheric aerosol injection — that is, spraying reflective sulfur dioxide or some other material into the second lowest layer of the atmosphere. As Lara Williams notes, “A record-breaking funding round for companies doing this stuff shows people are getting serious about trying to artificially cool the planet. That’s terrifying, especially when these businesses are largely unregulated.”