Major green group launches sun-blocking research

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Jun 12, 2024 View in browser
 
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By Arianna Skibell

Presented by Chevron

The sun rises amid high temperatures in Mexico City in May.

Some climate researchers are studying whether sunlight can be safely deflected from the Earth. | Marco Ugarte/AP

One of the nation’s most influential environmental groups plans to study the contentious concept of blocking the sun’s rays to cool the planet.

The move marks a significant mainstream endorsement of a once-fringe (and still-risky) field of research, writes Corbin Hiar.

Yet the Environmental Defense Fund is staying curiously mum on the details of its solar radiation management research project, including the size of the new program and the full list of organizations underwriting it. Corbin’s many requests for comment went unanswered or redirected.

Theoretically, solar geoengineering involves various methods of deflecting the sun’s rays, such as spraying reflective particles into the stratosphere or brightening clouds to reflect sunlight away from Earth. Proponents of the last-ditch climate solution, including some top climate scientists, say such efforts could stave off the worst of global warming long enough for humanity to reduce atmospheric pollution to safe levels.

But other scientists and environmentalists argue that shooting particles into the air is too dangerous to even study. The approach doesn’t address the world’s addiction to fossil fuels and could have dire unintended consequences for the ozone layer and weather patterns, they argue.

In a statement to The New York Times, EDF Associate Chief Scientist Lisa Dilling said the group remains steadfast in its support for research — not deployment — of solar radiation management.

But even studying the approach has proved challenging in recent years. California’s Alameda City Council voted last week to block an experiment aimed at making clouds more reflective in the Bay Area. That’s the second time in recent months such a project has been shelved amid community opposition.

Earlier this year, EDF gathered scientists, environmentalists and donors to help establish best practices for philanthropic-funded studies of solar geoengineering. Dilling told Corbin at the time that the group would release a report on the meeting, including participants’ names.

But on Tuesday — after weeks of saying the report was forthcoming — EDF said it would not publish the meeting recap.

“We don’t typically post for the public our workshop reports,” spokesperson Anne Marie Borrego told Corbin in an email. She said Dilling, who joined the group last August, was “fairly new at EDF and she didn’t know that when she told you it would be released to the public.”

 

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President Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

(From left) President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. | AP

Biden's mad dash to beat the clock
Biden’s regulators hustled to complete sweeping new energy and environmental rules in recent months in hopes that they’ll stick even if former President Donald Trump returns to the White House, write Kevin Bogardus and Robin Bravender.

The regulations include everything from a high-stakes power plant rule on climate pollution to a policy governing conservation of public lands.

Feds give out $1B in instant EV rebates
The Biden administration said Wednesday that it has doled out more than $1 billion to buyers of electric vehicles since launching point-of-sale rebates in January, writes David Ferris.

But analysts said the numbers are less impressive than they may seem. The rebate went to only a fourth of the more than 600,000 EV purchases so far this year, said Alan Baum, an independent auto analyst in Detroit.

Mountain Valley pipeline gets green light
The nation's top energy regulator granted approval to start operation of the Mountain Valley pipeline, the final hurdle for the contentious natural gas project that has draw sharp opposition from environmental activists, writes Catherine Morehouse.

The approval marks the end of a lengthy regulatory and legal battle over the pipeline that dates back to its first application in 2015.

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Political meddling: Why scientists fear a second Trump term, and what they are doing about it.

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People take part in a climate march in Nairobi, Kenya, last year.

People take part in a climate march in Nairobi, Kenya, last year. | Suleiman Mbatiah/AFP via Getty Images

Frustration spilled over during international climate talks Tuesday as a U.S. negotiator expressed dismay at efforts by developing nations to ratchet up climate aid from wealthy nations.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday he expected Republicans would make good on a pledge from presumptive GOP nominee Trump to try to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act.

The “clean” hydrogen industry’s patience for long-awaited Biden administration guidance to receive tax credits is running thin.

That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.

 

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