Giant Space Mirrors Seem Pretty Rad - Andrew Reza

     As seen time and time again throughout history, from chaos rises radicalism. When situations turn sour, when mediocrity isn't cutting it, radical solutions thrive in the minds of onlookers. This trend seems to be repeating itself in a current conundrum: Climate change. 

    Although it is still within the realm of science fiction, a few scientists have been looking towards a radical solution known as solar geoengineering. Solar geoengineering is a proposal that aims to directly control the temperature of the entire planet, by directly controlling how much sunlight the planet receives. This simply entails reflecting a portion of the sun's light back into space. This would artificially cool the planet by preventing sunlight from converting into heat on the surface, essentially sidestepping the problem posed by the excesses of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Many methods of executing this idea have been proposed, ranging from contraptions as mad as giant space mirrors, to propositions as simple as painting our buildings white. 

    Although the many proposals vary in complexity, they are all simple in concept. Though the scale of the previously mentioned methods are substantially different, in the end, they both reflect sunlight. Both mirrors, and the color white, reflect light. Even spraying aerosols into the upper atmosphere, similar to the fumes released from volcanic eruptions, keep the sun's light away from the planet.

    The idea of solar geoengineering, although slowly growing in popularity, is still highly controversial, and almost unanimously rejected as a practical solution at the moment. A primary reason for this rejection is how it skips many critical steps. As it stands right now, there has been no research in the field on any scale. What the repercussions geoengineering would have on the planet and the various ecosystems within are completely unknown. There is too little information on possible environmental side effects, and thus little research has been done on this topic, or even specifically how such a feat would be accomplished. 

    Another problem with geoengineering isn't scientific; it's political. Opposing national interests can result in conflicts that affect the entire planet. With the scale that solar geoengineering operates at, the wrong people can cause unforeseen problems that dwarf even climate change. 

    Whether or not solar geoengineering will ever be developed remains to be seen. It could be the chemotherapy the world needs. It could be the scientific disaster fiction has been alluding to for generations. It could even have such a minimal impact, that the thousands of giant space mirrors above the surface would be demoted to popular tourist attractions. All that can be said is that, unlike the space mirrors, climate change isn't rad.