geoengineering

11 Stories

Nation's Deluge Triggers a Debate on Cloud Seeding
Nation's Deluge Triggers
a Debate on Cloud Seeding
longform
Oct 10, 2025 10:00 AM CDT

Nation's Deluge Triggers a Debate on Cloud Seeding

Bloomberg looks at the science behind the practice after UAE flooding

(Newser) - The skies over Dubai turned downright cinematic on April 16, 2024, as an unusually fierce storm dropped torrents of rain and unleashed widespread flooding. Social media filled with bizarre images: a Lamborghini forging through murky water, a golfer paddleboarding down a fairway. By the time the storm subsided, four...

City Scraps Controversial Climate Test

Alameda, California, officials nix test of sea spray particles, one day meant for cloud brightening

(Newser) - In an attempt to stave off the worst effects of global warming, researchers are reaching into their toolbox to find whatever remedies they can. One California city has now shoved one such plan back in the box: On Wednesday, the City Council in Alameda voted to stop scientists from experimenting...

Scientists Warm Up to Idea on Cooling Down the Earth

Solar geoengineering projects that involve deflecting the sun's rays get a second look

(Newser) - Three and a half decades ago, British physicist John Latham raised the wild idea of injecting droplets of seawater into clouds to brighten them, increasing their reflection of solar radiation and thereby cooling the planet. He suggested 1,000 unmanned vessels could sail the oceans, spraying water into the air....

Experts Cringe at Startup's Solar Geoengineering Scheme

Even proponents of geoengineering say it's a 'terrible idea' to try it right now

(Newser) - Some say solar geoengineering—using sulfur or other particles to reflect sunlight back into outer space—is humankind’s best hope for fighting climate change. Also, nearly all experts say it’s way too soon to implement any actual tests because there are too many unknowns. Nevertheless, according to MIT ...

'Giant' of Climate Science Left Final 'Profound' Message
He Said Earth's
Status Was Dire.
He Offered a
Last-Ditch Solution
in case you missed it
Mar 9, 2019 7:00 AM CST

He Said Earth's Status Was Dire. He Offered a Last-Ditch Solution

In video at research symposium, Wallace Smith Broecker talked about controversial solar shield

(Newser) - Before he passed away last month , the "Grandfather of Climate Science" once more broached an idea to fend off global warming, albeit a radical one, in what the New York Times dubs a "final warning for Earth." Via what one fellow scientist calls a "very touching...

UAE Wants to Build a Mountain to Control the Weather

Experts say it would be a mountainous waste of money

(Newser) - Even with a major downturn in the oil business, the United Arab Emirates still has enough money to look at a few modest construction projects—including building a mountain in the desert. The Gulf nation, which is desperately short of rain, has paid $400,000 to the Colorado-based University Corporation...

CIA Studying How to Control the World's Climate

Backs $630K geoengineering study

(Newser) - Get those tin foil hats out: The CIA is backing half of a $630,000 study into whether scientists can fight climate change via geoengineering. The 21-month project by the National Academy of Sciences will be a "technical evaluation of a limited number of proposed geoengineering techniques," says...

Rogue Bizman Dumps 100 Tons of Iron Into Sea in 'Experiment'

Canada probing possible treaty violations

(Newser) - A California businessman dumped 100 tons of iron sulphate dust into the Pacific Ocean as part of a rogue "experiment" that has infuriated scientists and government officials. The operation launched by Russ George, 62, spewed the dust off western Canada in exchange for $2.5 million from a native...

Team Plots 'Fake Volcano' to Cool Planet

Giant hose will pump particles into stratosphere

(Newser) - Volcanic eruptions cool the planet by injecting particles into the stratosphere that reflect the sun's rays, so could an artificial volcano counter global warming? A British scientific team is aiming to find out in what may be the biggest geo-engineering experiment ever conducted, the Guardian reports. The team plans...

Burning Coal Slowed Climate Change: Study

Sulfur pollution masked effect of CO2 emissions

(Newser) - The vast amounts of coal China burned during the 2000s may have actually slowed down climate change, according to a new study. Researchers believe the sulfur pollution caused by burning coal deflected the sun's rays, causing a temporary plateau in warming, the AP reports. But while sulfur drops out...

DC's New Climate Plan: Playing God With Weather

'Geoengineering' a hot topic these days

(Newser) - Utter the word "geoengineering" in Washington, and you used to get a few smirks. The idea of toying with the weather through seemingly crazy schemes like deflecting sunlight away from Earth or sucking carbon dioxide from the air seemed a little bananas. But with climate legislation on the back...

11 Stories
Most Read on Newser