Harvard University wants to spray poison to save the Earth

Bringing sulfate compounds into the atmosphere is like a volcanic eruption. It may not stop once side effects are out of control.

Aerosols - or aerosols , are particles suspended in air in the form of glue larger than 0.2 micrometers (mist is an example of an aerosol). They are often more harmful to human health than they are beneficial. It sounds crazy, but researchers at Harvard University are planning to spray this particle into the atmosphere to combat climate change.

Spraying aerosols into the stratosphere of the room to cool the effects of volcanoes.(Photo: Xosnak).

Harvard's risky move

Basically, they will create a shield made of millions of tons of sulfate-based microparticles reflecting solar radiation , helping the Earth not overheat like it does now.

However, this also has the potential that the already very fragile atmosphere may be " poisoned" , leading to immeasurable consequences like in the film Matrix. At that time, the Earth was covered in black gas, all the sunlight was blocked.

Even so, scientists still seriously consider building a chemical shield to protect the planet.

'The fact that researchers at one of the world's top universities began to develop such a bold idea that how global climate change has become critical' , Gas expert post-dynamics Peter Cox answered the Guardian.

Detailed analysis shows that spraying microparticles can lead to very dangerous and unstable results, but technically possible.

This option is also inexpensive. By using a specialized squadron to spray sulfate particles into the stratospheric layer, the Harvard University study said the cost of this ambitious project could be within the capabilities of many countries.

Using aerosols to block solar radiation is one of the geo-engineering measures, which are potentially dangerous and have not been fully verified.(Photo: AFP).

If this project is implemented in 2019, the research team predicts it will cost only 3.5 billion USD to start up, and the annual maintenance cost is 2.25 billion USD. Need to know, every year the world spends up to 500 billion USD for green technologies - non-profitable investments.

'A lot of countries have the capacity to finance such a program,' the study concluded. 'There are about 50 countries where the annual defense budget is more than 3 billion USD, of which 30 countries spend more than 6 billion'.

One of the biggest expenses for this ambitious project is to buy a fleet of mist sprayers.

Air-mist spraying is the only option cheap enough. However, an aircraft model can fly as high as 20km, carrying tons of microparticles currently not on the market (commercial aircraft are currently flying at 10km altitude).

These aircraft must fly high enough, so that tropospheric disturbances do not affect the microparticles. Then the microparticles will be ejected in the stratosphere, where there are no winds, storms or other atmospheric activities. They can stay there for a whole year without settling down on the ground.

Therefore, researchers need to design a completely new model just for this sole purpose. The aircraft need to have narrow bodies, wide wings and can have four engines, more than two engines compared to popular commercial airplanes.

If you want to make about 60,000 flights a year to cool the Earth for 15 years, the fleet needs 100 specials. Scientists plan to carry out the project with the first eight aircraft built.

Many incalculable consequences

However, this shielding technology has many consequences. Microparticles can acidify the ocean and many other unpredictable scenarios. No country has ever tried a similar program.

Such types of climate intervention techniques have been considered 'cheap, fast and incomplete' so far.

Bringing sulfate compounds into the atmosphere is like a volcanic eruption. It may not stop once side effects are out of control.

Also if for some reason, the spraying of the particle was stopped in the middle, combined with the more likely greenhouse effect the Earth would heat up faster.

Preventing the sun's rays can bring undesirable effects such as breaking the Indian monsoon.(Photo: Time Magazine).

'This is like releasing bears into the arena between people and lions. Bears can kill lions, but they can also share bait as gladiators, ' said Jonathan Protor, an agricultural economist at Berkeley University.

Some experts even argue that climate interfering techniques like this are a threat to democracy. What would happen if a country mastered this technology and threatened the independence of the remaining countries?

But Harvard University believes that it is impossible that a country to carry out such a project in secret could be 'technology exclusive' . 'Didn't anyone notice 4,000 unusual flights to the annual stratosphere?' , the Harvard team criticized.

The future of climate change is solved, or the film Matrix will become real life still left open with much controversy can not end.