Scientists are exploring options to cool down the Earth, as the planet's temperatures continue rising. One possible method is geoengineering, an umbrella term for "any actions that try to change the climate of Earth itself artificially," said Popular Mechanics. Solar geoengineering, which cool the planet "by blocking the sun with reflective materials," is especially controversial.
A number of solar geoengineering projects have been considered over the last 50 years. But many governments and scientists are hesitant to permit actual experimentation. For example, a high-profile project at Harvard University was discontinued in March, with the project's platform being "repurposed for basic scientific research in the stratosphere unrelated to solar geoengineering," the university announced.Â
Solar geoengineering has a lot of potential to help reverse global warming, but nobody is certain how manually cooling the Earth will affect other natural processes and organisms. "The thing is these science-based guesses are still subject to the unexpected consequences that use in the real world might cause," said Popular Mechanics.Â
For some, the gamble on solar geoengineering is worth it. Lynn Russell, a climate scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego, said "the recent acceleration of impacts from global warming means that we need to consider non-ideal backup plans just to buy us enough time to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and existing burdens." | 
