Scientists are ready to make a bold and expensive effort to tackle the Climate Crisis as they have planned to spray diamond dust worth trillions of US Dollars in an attempt to cool the Earth! As per a research paper published in Geophysical Research Letters, five million tonnes of diamond dust would be required per year to significantly reduce global temperatures! When the sunlight would hit the shiny diamond dust, much of it would be reflected back out of the atmosphere. Hence, the global temperature would reduce.

Researchers believe that if they can continue this process for more than 45 years, then they would be able to reduce the Earth’s temperature by about 2.9 degrees Fahrenheit! However, implementing this plan is not as easy as it seems. According to some scientists, the entire process would be a costly, as well as laborious, one. They have estimated that spreading diamond dust for 45 years might cost about USD 200 trillion! Therefore, many are of the opinion that spending so much money just on the basis of guesswork is absolutely absurd.

However, a section of researchers has argued that the cost is nothing to deal with the alarming pace at which the climate crisis is currently escalating. They have opined that all possible experiments should be done to combat Climate Change, no matter how unrealistic they may seem. As per the research paper, the process of spraying diamond dust into the atmosphere is known as Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI). SAI is basically a method to reduce Global Warming by introducing reflective particles into the stratosphere in order to mimic the cooling effects of volcanic eruptions. This particular process falls under Solar Geoengineering. In this case, small particles are dispersed in the stratosphere to reflect sunlight and to reduce heat absorption.

The researchers have also been monitoring the effects of other aerosols, including sulphur, in the atmosphere mainly to determine which material would work best in real-world situations. The experiment is aimed at how well the aerosols reflecting sunlight. Researchers have also monitored how long the aerosols could stay in the air, apart from checking which dust particles settled quickly.

The research paper has mentioned that diamond dust has shown the best results in preliminary experiments as diamond particles have been able to resist coagulation and to remain aloft for the longer period. While other aerosols turned into acid rain, it was not the case with diamond dust! Although sulphur is not a good aerosol in terms of clumping, it can be a more practical option. Douglas MacMartin, an Engineer at Cornell University involved in the study, has explained that sulphur’s affordability and ease of deployment make it more feasible.

The researchers have further monitored volcanic eruptions to get real-world insights into how sulphur particles behave in the atmosphere. They are convinced about its suitability for large-scale climate interventions. Since sulphur is a gas, it could be released easily by aircraft, unlike the heavy payloads required for spraying diamond dust. However, experts are of the opinion that it is necessary to look at the ecological and social impact on Planet Earth before conducting such experiments.

Read: How Indigenous People Are Adapting To Climate Change

Various predictions and warnings by scientists and environmentalists about the evils of Climate Change are not new. Their claims in various research papers related to Climate Change are extremely alarming! Scientists have repeatedly claimed that the main reasons for the extreme change in climate are humans and their destructive activities.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das