Joe Biden open to BLOCKING THE SUN to fight climate change

The White House released a report suggesting that a process to block out some sunlight coming into the atmosphere, "Stratospheric Aerosol Injections", (SAI) may be needed to curb the effects of climate change. This means limiting sunlight in an effort to cool the earth.

The report noted that "volcanic eruptions" are "natural analogs for SAI," as they shoot ash and particulate into the air, which does blot out the sun. The Biden administration said that it was promising. 

A similar concept was floated on The Simpsons in an episode where Mr. Burns launched a plan to blot out the sun so that people would be forced to consume more energy. 

SAI is part of the larger effort in the report to induce "solar radiation modification" (SRM).



The report details that SRM "cools the climate by reflecting... solar (shortwave) radiation back into space." Although it does not indicate a policy position of the executive branch, it is a response to a congressional directive to research the possibility. 

The report states that "climate change is already having profound effects on the physical and natural world, and on human well-being, and these effects will only grow as greenhouse gas concentrations increase and warming continues."

It suggests that to better prepare the nation for the future, the research into SAI and other methods of SRM are "crucial to enable informed decisions" about climate change. 

The report said that the analysis to implement SRM as part of is framed as a "risk vs. risk." SAI as part of SRM brings risks associated with it. 

The implementation of SAI involves using aerosols to reflect some of the sun’s rays back into space. However, this may bring ramifications by "alter[ing] stratospheric heating, circulation, and chemistry."

The report compared the process of aerosol injection to the after effects of "[v]olcanic eruptions" because they cool the earth and are "analogs for SAI."

In comparing the two processes, the report details the eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815 which cooled the earth 0.7 degrees Celsius. After the eruption, there was a "year without summer." The event altered precipitation patterns and disrupted monsoon seasons. 

The report said, "Understanding these and other potential negative impacts of SRM is as important as understanding potential benefits" that the process could bring. 

The Ozone layer, the report suggests, may be depleted at an accelerated rate if more aerosols are added to the atmosphere. They also said that "there are no plans underway to establish a comprehensive research program focused on solar radiation modification."