Would dust from the moon help combat climate change?
That's what a group of scientists proposed in a study published Wednesday. The research found that dust from the moon could serve as a barrier between the Earth and the sun, potentially reducing the amount of sunlight by 1 to 2 percent or 6 days worth per year, reports The Washington Post. As a result, the planet's temperature could be brought down from the outside.
The idea is still primarily conceptual as it would require a lot of new technology to be implemented feasibly, but "it is amazing to contemplate how moon dust — which took over four billion years to generate — might help slow the rise in the Earth's temperature, a problem that took us less than 300 years to produce," remarked study co-author Scott Kenyon of the Center for Astrophysics.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Along with the technology, there are also logistical issues to consider. The dust needs to be deposited in exactly the right place and would need to be replenished every few days, reports The Independent. Stuart Haszeldine from the University of Edinburgh describes it as "like trying to balance marbles on a football." The other issue is the sheer amount needed each time to be effective: 10 billion kilograms (22 billion pounds) of dust, the Post continues.
Strides should still be taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to the study's lead author Ben Bromley. "Our idea is one — and it's a very, very intensive one — to contribute to climate change mitigation, if we need more time here at home." Other scientists view the proposal as a distraction from tackling the issues on Earth.
"Perhaps the main problem," said Joanna Haigh, emeritus professor of atmospheric physics at Imperial College London, "is the suggestion that implementation of such schemes will solve the climate crisis whereas it just gives the polluters an excuse not to act."
-
August 24 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday's political cartoons include Putin at Donald Trump's circus, gallons of whitewash, and a foldable cartoon
-
5 Post Office-approved cartoons about mail-in votingCartoons Artists take on reverse logic, Putin's election advice, and more
-
The battle of the weight-loss drugsTalking Point Can Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly regain their former stock market glory? A lot is riding on next year's pills
-
Hurricanes are not exclusive to Earth. They can happen in space.Under the radar These storms may cause navigational problems
-
Rabbits with 'horns' sighted across Coloradospeed read These creatures are infected with the 'mostly harmless' Shope papilloma virus
-
Why does the US want to put nuclear reactors on the moon?Today's Big Question The plans come as NASA is facing significant budget cuts
-
Lithium shows promise in Alzheimer's studySpeed Read Potential new treatments could use small amounts of the common metal
-
Scientists discover cause of massive sea star die-offSpeed Read A bacteria related to cholera has been found responsible for the deaths of more than 5 billion sea stars
-
'Thriving' ecosystem found 30,000 feet underseaSpeed Read Researchers discovered communities of creatures living in frigid, pitch-black waters under high pressure
-
Answers to how life on Earth began could be stuck on MarsUnder the Radar Donald Trump plans to scrap Nasa's Mars Sample Return mission – stranding test tubes on the Red Planet and ceding potentially valuable information to China
-
New York plans first nuclear plant in 36 yearsSpeed Read The plant, to be constructed somewhere in upstate New York, will produce enough energy to power a million homes
