"Bill Gates is attempting to block the sun in order to keep the Earth more cool." Days later, on Monday night, Tucker Carlson dog-whistled to conspiracy theorists, telling Fox News viewers that "your body" is "Bill Gates' body now," because the Microsoft founder is helping to fund global COVID-19 vaccination efforts. "Grants for research are provided to Harvard University from gifts made by Bill Gates from his personal funds," the Harvard University website has said, noting the activities of the grant fund are totally unrelated to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Additionally, the project is not working to block or dim the sun. The proposed Harvard experiment would use a high-altitude balloon to lift instruments into the atmosphere and release aerosols. One goal of the project has always been to explore the real implications of this technology before we need it, because its never a good idea to launch an untested mechanism at a time of crisis. The Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment (SCoPEx) will spray a special calcium dust into the sky in order to reflect sunlight back into space. If the world cannot slow emissions or the effects of climate change are more extreme or occur sooner than expected, there may be demands to pursue additional climate-intervention technologies about which scientists need a better understanding, National Academy of Sciences President Ralph J. Cicerone said in a news release for that report.Although riskier ideas to lessen the amount of energy absorbed from the sun should not be considered for deployment, they should be studied so that we can provide answers if someday these ideas begin to be considered in attempts to avert catastrophe.". Since 2007, Bill Gates has funded research initiatives that, in part, provide grants for experiments related to solar radiation management a form of geoengineering controversially proposed. Microsofts The experiment would measure the risks and effectiveness of the technology. Its driven, in part, by a well-intentioned sense of caution that solar geoengineering will weaken efforts to cut carbon emissions. (April 22), The claim: Bill Gates is working to block the sun to prevent global warming. The most commonly proposed method is to use aerosols "the gaseous clouds formed by particles of many common materials" because the physical structure of their particles blocks and scatters light, according to Popular Mechanics. Caroline Delbert is a writer, avid reader, and contributing editor at Pop Mech. Gates' financial involvement with SCoPEx has been documented since November 2018. With everyone from investors to indigenous groups involved in the process, SCoPEx will never get off the ground without a lot of diplomacy. These Experts Say Yes. The stories or tweets generally assert or imply that: Bill Gates is funding research that will literally dim the sun; that he "wants to" use this form of geoengineering as a tool to fight climate change; that SCoPEx specifically seeks to test the theory that "spraying particles into the atmosphere" can reduce warming; and that scientists think SCoPEx itself could produce global unintended consequences. The experiment is funded in part through Harvards Solar Geoengineering Research Program, and Bill Gates is among the donors to that program. Thunberg: Not too late to act in Climate fight, Climate Activist Greta Thunberg appeared virtually before a House subcommittee Thursday to call on U.S. officials to do more, saying it's "not too late" to make real changes in the fight against climate change. St. Petersburg, FL This is the purpose of the experiment: once a safe, experimental amount of CaCO3 is released, the balloon will fly through it, sampling atmospheric reactions and recording resulting dynamics. Claim that Bill Gates is scheming to block the sun is wrong If Your Time is short Harvard researchers proposed a small-scale experiment that would spray aerosols into the atmosphere to. Billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is no stranger to conspiracy theories and speculation about the projects he funds. The SCoPEx project is partially funded by the Harvard University Solar Geoengineering Research Program (SGRP), which lists Bill Gates as one of its philanthropic donors. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Gates himself has put his money where his mouth is, backing a Harvard University experiment to look at the effect of spraying particles into the stratosphere to, in theory, create a global cooling effect. But harmless only goes so farthe repercussions of solar geoengineering arent necessarily found in the material released, but in the unexpected effects of mixing ingredients into the stratosphere. If successful, this could be a step towards a second experimental stage that would release a small amount of CaCO3 dust into the atmosphere. The World Economic Forum has its own police force. The falsehood centers on a small-scale experiment that Harvard researchers proposed called SCoPEx, short for Stratospheric Controlled Perturbation Experiment that would spray aerosols into the atmosphere to reflect some sunlight back into space, a technology aimed at minimizing global warming. Suggests a January traffic accident involving lab monkeys was responsible for spreading monkeypox to humans. For his part, SCoPEx researcher and Harvard Professor Frank Keutsch has argued that concerns like these are unsupported by scientific research and motivated more by fears about geoengineering being a problematic, pro-fossil fuel solution to global warming. Its called solar radiation management, or solar geoengineering. Yet the debate over solar geoengineering is likely to persist, as it enjoys the backing of wealthy individuals such as Gates, and the support of key scientific institutions, including the powerful U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which is urging the U.S. government to set up a federal research program to advance the technologies to the tune of up to $200 million. Snopes said SCoPEx is also financed by the Fund for Innovative Climate and Energy Research (FICER), a fund for research grants co-created by Gates in 2007. As noted by Nature in 2018, the concept in a broad sense is designed to spray particles into the stratosphere that may cool the planet by reflecting some of the Sun's rays. Instead, it will observe how particles interact with one another, with the background stratospheric air, and with solar and infrared radiation. China threatens to shoot Nancy Pelosis plane down if she visits Taiwan., Know what they always find in Alzheimers patients? As Popular Mechanics noted, "(A)ll of the scientists and backers involved are only suggesting doing researchnot taking large-scale action.". Frank Keutsch, the projects principal investigator, does not know what the results might bring. stated on March 3, 2023 in a Conservative Political Action Conference speech: stated on February 19, 2023 in a Facebook post: stated on February 24, 2023 in an Instagram post: stated on March 2, 2023 in a speech at CPAC: stated on February 25, 2023 in a Facebook post: stated on February 22, 2023 in a Facebook post: stated on February 26, 2023 in an Instagram post: stated on February 27, 2023 in a Facebook post: All Rights Reserved Poynter Institute 2020, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The launch will not release any stratospheric aerosols. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. February . He is among the donors to a program thats funding a small-scale experiment proposed by Harvard researchers that would spray aerosols into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight back into space. This process involves seeding the stratosphere with aerosols to reflect sunlight away. billionaire founder Bill Gates is financially backing the development of sun-dimming technology that would potentially reflect sunlight out of Earths atmosphere, triggering a global cooling effect. Bill Gates Will Have to Wait a While to Block the Sun - Yahoo! News The ultimate point of SCoPEx project is not to dim anything scientists do not need to test whether aerosols block sunlight, that fact is already well established but instead to release a small amount of the calcium carbonate (no more than 4.4 pounds) into the wake of a propeller-driven weather balloon flying 12 miles above the arctic, creating a diffuse cloud that is roughly 1000 yards long and 100 yards in diameter. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has funded a project to study such a technology. 20006, Florida You may need heart surgery or something. Remember the 2010 eruption of an Icelandic volcano that blocked the entire sky all the way into Europe? Washington, DC .css-v1xtj3{display:block;font-family:FreightSansW01,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-weight:100;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-v1xtj3:hover{color:link-hover;}}@media(max-width: 48rem){.css-v1xtj3{font-size:1.1387rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:0.625rem;}}@media(min-width: 40.625rem){.css-v1xtj3{line-height:1.2;}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.css-v1xtj3{font-size:1.18581rem;line-height:1.2;margin-bottom:0.5rem;margin-top:0rem;}}@media(min-width: 64rem){.css-v1xtj3{font-size:1.23488rem;line-height:1.2;margin-top:0.9375rem;}}These Are the 13 Biggest Planes in the World, Why Russian Hybrid Warfare Failed in Ukraine, Three Nifty Hacks to Make Drilling Easier, Whats New With F1 Tires for the 2023 Season, Memes Could Save Us From Superintelligent Machines, The Secret War to Take out Iran's F-14 Fighters, Meet the E-7 Wedgetail, the Air Forces New Plane, Report: Pilot Error Ruined a $112 Million F-35 Jet. The speculative possibility of future solar geoengineering risks becoming a powerful argument for industry lobbyists, climate denialists, and some governments to delay decarbonization policies, the authors write. For now, research into the field is fairly limited. Franklin Jacome/Agencia Press South/Getty Images, lists Bill Gates as one of its philanthropic donors, Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. Bill Gates, Harvard, To Begin Blocking Sun In Spring Of 2019. After Reuters reported on the effort in December 2020, the conservative Western Journal published a piecetitled "Bill Gates' Savior Complex Spirals Out of Control, Funds Sun-Dimming Plan To Save the Human Race," in which the writer portrays the project as a threat to humanity. Primary source evidence proves the claim to be false. 1995 - 2023 by Snopes Media Group Inc. In a report made by that body, Gates' involvement is noted, but the proportion of the project funded by Gates is not publicly disclosed. (Photo by: VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images), Santa Clara, California 27 September, 2014 Global, March Against Chemtrails and Geoengineering, YOGYAKARTA, INDONESIA - JANUARY 07: Lava runs down, from Mount Merapi as the volcanic activity increases on January 7, 2021 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. This is our End Times News Update for the week of Friday February 3rd, 2023. Microsoft founder Bill Gates (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) The Harvard researchers have claimed that, if it were launched this year, it would cost about $3.5 billion (2.74 billion), plus. . This bioweapon attack on humanity cost us $20T, millions of lives, and our freedom. "Instead, it will observe how particles interact with one another, with the background stratospheric air, and with solar and infrared radiation. Fact check: Bill Gates is not trying to 'block the sun's rays' in the name of climate change. Pinatubo eruption in 1991 , which temporarily cooled our planet by 0.5 degrees C. New Findings Warn Earth Could Break Key Warming Barrier In 2033, Should Climate Scientists Stop Doing Research? His grant-making research fund, the Fund for Innovative Climate and Energy Research, partially finances the project. These are gathered under the umbrella term solar geoengineering. The most common and studied method is to reflect sunlight away from Earth using aerosol particles in the atmosphere, but until now, this has been seen as more of a fringe idea. We take a look at 7 End Times Headlines from all across the world. Its the instigating event of the 2013 film Snowpiercer, for example, where blocking sunlight has turned Earth into a lifeless ice ball. ", He wrote: "The obvious nightmare is that the future possibility of geoengineering slows efforts to stop emissions but that the technology turns out to be infeasible. Two key aspects of this are Greenhouse Gas Removal . Headlines or statements to the contrary rely on "slippery slope" arguments about geoengineering in general, not a fear that SCoPEx itself could destroy the world. But if we dont understand how solar geoengineering will affect the world, by the time we need it as an option in our climate playbook, it will be too late.