The problem of the climate crisis on Earth will be solved by the Moon: what scientists offer

American scientists have proposed a very unusual solution to combat global warming. They believe that lunar dust can be used to create a protective “shield” around the Earth, which would reduce the level of solar radiation. But other scientists have been skeptical of the idea and believe that the need to simply reduce the use of fossil fuels, writes The Guardian.

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A team of scientists led by Ben Bromley of the University of Utah, USA, propose a very unusual solution to the climate crisis. Scientists believe that it is possible to extract millions of tons of dust on the Moon, and then using an electromagnetic gun, which will be located on our satellite, launch this dust into space.

Thus, the dust should form a protective “screen” at a distance of 1.5 million km from the Earth, and it will help to significantly reduce the amount of solar radiation entering the planet. According to Bromley, lunar dust particles have the right composition in order to scatter sunlight well.

But in order to “shoot” dust from the Moon into space, it is necessary to deliver the necessary equipment for dust extraction and the cannon itself to our satellite, which every year will support the protective screen in space with its shots.

Scientists acknowledge that this project will require significant financial resources. And it may even require the construction of a new space station at a distance of 1.5 million km from the Earth, from which it will be possible to monitor the state of the protective screen, as well as use special devices to maintain it in a stable state.

Bromley believes that this geoengineering project has many advantages over projects that involve spraying particles that reflect sunlight into the Earth’s atmosphere. At the same time, scientists say that we still need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, and this project will be just one way to stop climate change.

But some skeptics think this moon dust idea is something out of science fiction. For example, Ted Parson of the University of California, Los Angeles, finds Bromley’s project very funny and interesting, but it is unlikely to be implemented in practice. And basically the problem is that huge financial investments are needed to implement this unusual idea. The scientist also points out that in space such a screen would be very difficult to control, so there are practically no special advantages over geoengineering projects on Earth to reduce the level of solar heat.

And opponents of any geoengineering projects, even on Earth, even in space, believe that any such proposals are an attempt to divert attention from the problem of using fossil fuels on the planet. According to Frank Biermann of the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, mining material on the moon or on asteroids to use to block sunlight in space is not a solution to the ongoing and growing climate crisis. The scientist believes that only a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere can somehow help solve the problem.

One of the consequences of global warming is the melting of glaciers on Earth. Focus has already written that 15 million people from four countries will be under water due to the explosion of the “ice” lake.

Focus also wrote that scientists are removing responsibility for climate change from the clouds. The researchers concluded that clouds are less sensitive to climate than previously thought.