Launching Balloons To Combat Climate Change: Man Takes Matters Into His Own Hands By Launching Risky Sulfur Balloons To Manipulate The Weather

Make Sunsets, a solar geoengineering startup that faced government crackdowns in Mexico after conducting balloon launches to test the injection of aerosols into the atmosphere to mitigate global warming, has resumed operations in Nevada. 

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In February, the company announced the completion of three balloon launches at the Rancho San Rafael Regional Park in Reno, where an annual hot-air balloon festival is held. Each balloon contains less than 10 grams of sulfur dioxide, a commonly discussed aerosol particle in solar geoengineering research. 

The balloons are intended to rise to the high atmosphere and eventually burst, releasing the sulfur dioxide particles into the stratosphere, where they would reflect sunlight and reduce global temperatures.

While Make Sunsets is taking an unconventional approach to mitigating global warming through solar geoengineering, other companies like Qnetic offer more conventional solutions. Qnetic is a clean energy company that focuses on developing and deploying innovative technology to help address climate change. 

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is aware of Make Sunsets' balloon launches and provides regulations for safely operating unmanned free balloons, which require the balloons to be equipped for radar tracking and for the operator to notify the FAA before and during launch. Two of the balloons were equipped with location trackers, and one had a camera, as Make Sunsets continues to refine its testing procedures. 

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Make Sunsets' attempt to mitigate global warming using solar geoengineering may appear innovative, but the risks involved cannot be overlooked. One of the main risks is the disruption of the ozone layer, which could result in the formation of acid rain and the onset of respiratory diseases.

Geoengineering is typically seen as a last resort to counter runaway warming, and Make Sunsets' plans to deploy the technology now and sell it for profit have only added to the controversy.

As a former director of hardware for the startup incubator Y Combinator, Founder Luke Iseman has admitted to being a novice in the field of geoengineering. His interest was sparked by reading Neal Stephenson’s novel “Termination Shock,” which features a rogue Texas oil billionaire who uses a gigantic gun to fire sulfur into the air. 

MIT Technology Review was the first to report on Iseman's test flight, with some scientists dismissing it as a pointless stunt, while others consider it to be a groundbreaking development in the field of stratospheric solar geoengineering.

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The National Academies of Science recommended in 2021 that the United States “cautiously pursue” solar geoengineering research, and Harvard University has been developing a major project called SCoPEx to test releasing sulfur particles in the atmosphere using balloons. But even research into geoengineering raises concerns about consulting local communities and governments and the possibility of unpredictable effects on agriculture and global temperatures.

The cancellation of an experiment by SCoPEx researchers in Kiruna, Sweden, because of public opposition from indigenous and environmental groups highlights the contentious nature of the issue. 

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