James Temple
A startup says it’s begun releasing particles into the atmosphere, in an effort to tweak the climate — and in a move likely to provoke widespread criticism. #geoengineering #climatechange https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/12/24/1066041/a-startup-says-its-begun-releasing-particles-into-the-atmosphere-in-an-effort-to-tweak-the-climate/
A startup says it’s begun releasing particles into the atmosphere, in an effort to tweak the climate

Make Sunsets is already attempting to earn revenue for geoengineering, a move likely to provoke widespread criticism.

MIT Technology Review
Dec 25, 2022 at 2:17amWeb
Show threadGraylynnDec 25, 2022
@jtemple what? That's the plotline of a sci-fi disaster! You know, the kind where we "accidentally" blot out the sun and kill all life on earth, except for a plucky band of human beings who managed to build a train that circles the earth 24/7 365 forever and ever... wait, this is the plot to Snowpiercer. 
Show threadProgGrrlDec 25, 2022

@jtemple

Ah christ, we’re gonna destroy everything aren’t we

#ThereIsNoPlanetB

Show threadEric SezgenDec 25, 2022
@jtemple and so begins the geoengineering non-proliferation era?
Show threadCypherDec 25, 2022
@jtemple
Show threadRed FasterDec 25, 2022

@jtemple ~ For its part, the company says it’s operating on the best modeling research available today, will adjust its practices as it learns more and hopes to collaborate with nations and experts to guide these efforts as it scales up.

How generous of them. I can only hope our intelligence community is taking very detailed notes.

Show threadStan FletcherDec 25, 2022
@jtemple My goodness. Oh look, more “science” for the chemtrails nutjobs.
Show threadmoliverDec 25, 2022
@jtemple
With rampant temperature increases and CO2 levels, Earth could become another Venus. Good thing we don't also have clouds of sulfur. Oh wait...
Show threadToni M.Dec 25, 2022

@jtemple

who might the investors be in that startup? 🤔

and what could go wrong? if only someone would have warned them. 😱

Show threadanlomedadDec 25, 2022

@mad @jtemple

"“It's morally wrong, in my opinion, for us not to be doing this — and to do this as quickly and safely as we can,” he says."
Uhugh.

He founded his company #MakeSunsets in September in Delaware, the U.S. onshore tax haven https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_de/7059787

Morally mature, Mr. Iseman #geoengineering

Sickening.

According to Hauschild's 2017 #sustainability bible
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212827116314329
this biz model and company should never have been allowed to be founded.
#FreeMarket is free murder

Show threadanlomedadDec 25, 2022

@jtemple
Thanks for the article!

#MakeSunsets is a Delaware company, of course https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_de/7059787

The whole world is doomed because the stupid, decadent US Americans allow every sociopath to ruin it for all of us in order to comply with their effin "free market" ideology.

Iseman's #geoengineering company is like Musk's #Starlink, while more harmful than merely creating #spacejunk and destroying astrophotography. Both are sociopaths, obviously, and the US Americans let them lose on us.

Show threadsternburgDec 25, 2022
@jtemple we do live in the dumbest timeline.
Show threadDavid M. Levinson ⁂Dec 25, 2022
@jtemple @gspeng First as farce, then as tragedy.
Show threadDavid HoDec 25, 2022
@jtemple Congratulations on the article. You have a knack for finding these startups doing questionable things and getting all the right experts to comment. Also, WTF?
Show threadJoris MeysDec 25, 2022
@jtemple last time we pumped tons of sulfur in the atmosphere, we killed entire forests with acid rain. Why do those lunatics not know that??
Show threadsamDec 25, 2022
@jtemple isn't that how most zombie apocalypse narratives begin? Eager startups▶️ best intentions▶️massive oopsie?
Count me reserved
Show threadSheril KirshenbaumDec 25, 2022

@jtemple Discouraging on so many levels. Taking action without the input and involvement of all communities affected is wrong + the effects of geoengineering schemes on #climate change & the environment are wildly uncertain.

We shouldn’t be trying to change the planet. We need to change.

Show thread{OM_}Dec 25, 2022
@Sheril @jtemple the worst thing about having a 'plan b' is that it's going to be used
Show threadCraig NewmarkDec 25, 2022
@jtemple do I hear a reference to Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson?
Show threadxs4me2Dec 25, 2022
@jtemple
If it would work, a startup should not actually be doing this. If it will not, the same.
Show threadSteveo Dec 25, 2022
@jtemple Snowpiercer was a chemical released to into the atmosphere that worked too well. Neal Stephenson’s Termination Shock was sulfur particles to start with.
Show threadjosh levingerDec 25, 2022

@jtemple

“Doing it as a startup is a terrible idea” - the story of the last decade of tech…

Show threadR SaravananDec 25, 2022
@jtemple "the company says it’s operating on the best modeling research available today" The best climate modeling research says that the climate will get worse in some regions (and better in other regions) with such types of geoengineering. Just focusing on the global average temperature overlooks this aspect.
The assertion by this company that its actions are based on modeling gives legal standing to a regional government (or a small nation) to sue this company for worsening the local climate.
Show threadPrasenjit SahaDec 27, 2022
@RSarava What does the Geoengingeering Demon tell us about orders of magnitude? My not-very-educated guess is that a measurable global effect would take millions of tons of sulfur (maybe 10% of Pinatubo 1991) but local short-term changes are a different story, maybe even a few tons could affect a season in a city-sized area with statistical significance. But this is only a guess -- do enlighten us.
Show threadTheTrueRGDec 25, 2022
@jtemple Why do people keep wanting to do Neal Stephenson books as reality?
Show threadZorro Notorious MEB 😡Dec 25, 2022
@jtemple Given the state of the science, this is not only unethical and potentially disastrous, it also smacks of financial fraud. I'm getting strong Theranos vibes from that dude.
Show threadMitraDec 25, 2022
@jtemple How do we grapple with the ethics of geo-engineering? "Make Sunsets" has started experimentally releasing sulphur for global-cooling. There are big issues with this!
I recommend reading Neil Stevenson's prescient novel "Termination Shock" for thoughtful exploration.
Since we can't expect government to do much - they've all known for decades that global warming is real, but none have significantly reduced emissions (mostly just released pledges. So how do we actually reverse warming?
Show threadBritstralianDec 25, 2022

@jtemple What could possibly go wrong???

But then again, fossil fuel companies have been doing this for decades...

Show threadAndy MillerDec 26, 2022
@jtemple Another candidate for the Thomas Midgely Prize, honoring the man who added lead to gasoline and freon to the atmosphere. This effort won't add to the science or affect climate. It does add to the list of those who think they, alone, can fix it, to echo a not-too-distant inaugural address. Meaningful research continues to be needed, but that needs to look at the full range of social and environmental issues, well beyond modeling changes in the atmosphere.
Show threadDana R FisherDec 26, 2022
@AndyMiller @jtemple Well said Andy!
Show threadJonah SteinJan 6, 2023
@jtemple What could go wrong?