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A secret climate experiment in Alameda
https://www.politico.com/newsletter...secret-climate-experiment-in-alameda-00150705
{Corbin Hiar & Blanca Begert | 04 April 2024}
USS GEOENGINEERING: A weird experiment in climate modification is underway in the Bay.
On Tuesday morning, a group of scientists launched a stream of microscopic salt particles into the sky off the deck of a decommissioned aircraft carrier in Alameda, on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay.
The test marked the country’s first outdoor experiment to limit global warming by increasing cloud cover to reflect more sunlight away from the Earth. The fact that very few people knew about it beforehand reflects how touchy geoengineering projects still are despite the growing interest in them as a potential way to slow global warming, reports Corbin Hiar for POLITICO’s E&E News.
The Coastal Atmospheric Aerosol Research and Engagement, or CAARE, project, led by researchers at the University of Washington, kept a tight lid on the project details. That was out of concern “that critics would try to stop them,” reported The New York Times, which, along with the San Francisco Chronicle, was granted exclusive access to cover the initial firing of the spray cannons.
(Their concerns may have been well founded; more information is not necessarily conducive to fostering community support, as a new poll out today by opponents of the once secrecy-shrouded “California Forever” development points out.)
The project team didn’t respond to questions from POLITICO; the mayor of Alameda’s office directed questions to the USS Hornet. SilverLining, a geoengineering research advocacy group involved in the project, said in a press release that the project was being undertaken “with a deep commitment to open science and a culture of humility.”
“The world needs to rapidly advance its understanding of the effects of aerosol particles on climate,” said Kelly Wanser, the executive director of SilverLining.
The experiment will run through the end of May, when conditions permit, atop the USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum in Alameda. And now that it’s out in the open, visitors to the USS Hornet will be able to view the experiment.
It’s unclear if more transparency will quell concerns about the unintended consequences of technology that could alter weather patterns. Last month, a Harvard University experiment that planned to inject reflective aerosols into the stratosphere near Sweden was canceled after encountering opposition from Indigenous groups.
A company called Make Sunsets caused a stir last year when it launched balloons with sulfate particles into the upper atmosphere from Mexico and prompted the country to ban solar engineering.
As Robin Bravender reported last week for POLITICO’s E&E News, scientists and academics are calling on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to beef up its regulations as interest in these projects grows.
Observers are keeping a close eye on the University of Washington project’s next steps, which includes a second phase that will take place on an undisclosed pier about a mile off the coast.
“Since this experiment was kept under wraps until the test started, we are eager to see how public engagement is being planned and who will be involved,” said Shuchi Talati, the executive director of the Alliance for Just Deliberation on Solar Geoengineering, a nonprofit that seeks to include developing countries in decisions about solar modification.
https://www.politico.com/newsletter...secret-climate-experiment-in-alameda-00150705
{Corbin Hiar & Blanca Begert | 04 April 2024}
USS GEOENGINEERING: A weird experiment in climate modification is underway in the Bay.
On Tuesday morning, a group of scientists launched a stream of microscopic salt particles into the sky off the deck of a decommissioned aircraft carrier in Alameda, on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay.
The test marked the country’s first outdoor experiment to limit global warming by increasing cloud cover to reflect more sunlight away from the Earth. The fact that very few people knew about it beforehand reflects how touchy geoengineering projects still are despite the growing interest in them as a potential way to slow global warming, reports Corbin Hiar for POLITICO’s E&E News.
The Coastal Atmospheric Aerosol Research and Engagement, or CAARE, project, led by researchers at the University of Washington, kept a tight lid on the project details. That was out of concern “that critics would try to stop them,” reported The New York Times, which, along with the San Francisco Chronicle, was granted exclusive access to cover the initial firing of the spray cannons.
(Their concerns may have been well founded; more information is not necessarily conducive to fostering community support, as a new poll out today by opponents of the once secrecy-shrouded “California Forever” development points out.)
The project team didn’t respond to questions from POLITICO; the mayor of Alameda’s office directed questions to the USS Hornet. SilverLining, a geoengineering research advocacy group involved in the project, said in a press release that the project was being undertaken “with a deep commitment to open science and a culture of humility.”
“The world needs to rapidly advance its understanding of the effects of aerosol particles on climate,” said Kelly Wanser, the executive director of SilverLining.
The experiment will run through the end of May, when conditions permit, atop the USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum in Alameda. And now that it’s out in the open, visitors to the USS Hornet will be able to view the experiment.
It’s unclear if more transparency will quell concerns about the unintended consequences of technology that could alter weather patterns. Last month, a Harvard University experiment that planned to inject reflective aerosols into the stratosphere near Sweden was canceled after encountering opposition from Indigenous groups.
A company called Make Sunsets caused a stir last year when it launched balloons with sulfate particles into the upper atmosphere from Mexico and prompted the country to ban solar engineering.
As Robin Bravender reported last week for POLITICO’s E&E News, scientists and academics are calling on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to beef up its regulations as interest in these projects grows.
Observers are keeping a close eye on the University of Washington project’s next steps, which includes a second phase that will take place on an undisclosed pier about a mile off the coast.
“Since this experiment was kept under wraps until the test started, we are eager to see how public engagement is being planned and who will be involved,” said Shuchi Talati, the executive director of the Alliance for Just Deliberation on Solar Geoengineering, a nonprofit that seeks to include developing countries in decisions about solar modification.
