--- title: "Scientist Defends Plan to Release Huge Amounts of Sulfur Into the Stratosphere" description: "Critics are concerned about plans to dim the Sun — and one of its staunchest proponents is criticizing them right back." date: "2024-08-03" modified: "2024-08-03" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/scientist-sulfur-stratosphere-sun-dimming" categories: - "Climate Change" - "Environment" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "climate change" - "solar geoengineering" - "sulfur dioxide" - "sun-dimming" --- # Scientist Defends Plan to Release Huge Amounts of Sulfur Into the Stratosphere ![Critics are concerned about plans to dim the Sun — and one of its staunchest proponents is criticizing them right back.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* Critics are concerned about plans to dim the Sun — and one of its staunchest and most controversial proponents is criticizing them right back. In an [interview with the *New York Times*](), University of Chicago geophysical scientist David Keith said that those critical of his proposal to dim the Sun and blunt the effects of climate change using sulfur dioxide are overblowing the risks of such schemes. "There certainly are risks, and there certainly are uncertainties," the climate scientist said. "But there’s really a lot of evidence that the risks are quantitatively small compared to the benefits, and the uncertainties just aren’t that big." In the nascent field of solar geoengineering, the release of sulfur dioxide particulates into the stratosphere has an unusual amount of precedent. In 1991, for example, a [Filipino volcano]() released a gigantic plume of ash and dust that extended to the edge of space. In the year that followed, Keith noted to the *NYT*, [global temperatures dropped an average of one degree]() as the sulfuric ash from the volcano reflected some of the Sun's light away from the ground below. Despite that natural data point, opponents of solar geoengineering cite everything from ethical quandaries to the potential for backfire — and as Keith and his former colleagues learned the hard way, institutions interested in experimenting with it take those criticisms all too seriously. Back in 2018, when Keith was a researcher at Harvard, details of a small experiment he was doing that would have released a few pounds of mineral dust over Arizona caught the attention of local Indigenous tribes, [who opposed the plan]() on the grounds that it was a dangerous bandaid for the root causes of climate change. Eventually, youthful climate activist [Greta Thunberg joined the chorus of opponents]() — and Harvard ended up [canceling the experiment]() entirely. Ironically enough, one of Keith's other big critics is Frank Keutsch, a chemist and former collaborator on the Harvard experiment who changed his tune in the aftermath of that debacle. "I compare stratospheric solar geoengineering with opiates," Keutsch said during a recent debate about the technology. "They only treat the symptom and not the actual cause. You can get addicted to it if you don’t actually address the cause." "In addition, like any painkiller, you’re going to have side effects," the chemist continued. "And then there are withdrawal symptoms, and that’s termination shock." While those criticisms are indeed worth considering, Keith's take that the benefits could outweigh the risks is also salient — and with more and more [political pressure from the chemtrail crowd]() looking to [ban all solar geoengineering experiments](), we might not have much longer to see what will come of them. And as for the man himself, his haters seem to be his motivators. "I’m more motivated even now to push on solar geo because the rationalist case for it is looking stronger," Keith told the *NYT*. "While there are still lots of strong individual voices of opposition, there are a lot of people in serious policy positions that are taking it seriously, and that’s really exciting." **More on climate solutions:** [*Lil Nas X Is Flying Commercial to Avoid the Huge Carbon Footprint of a Private Jet*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()