The geoengineering project next door: Interactive map reveals the locations of thousands of controversial experiments to alter the climate - so, is there one in your hometown?
Share:
Across the Atlantic, a Bill Gates-backed project aims to block the sun and prevent global warming, halting climate change in its tracks. While this sounds like pure sci-fi, it's in fact one of hundreds of different plans to 'geoengineer' the Earth. Geoengineering is the large-scale manipulation of environmental processes that affect Earth's climate, in an attempt to halt global warming.
![[In June 2022, a carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) facility was opened in Northwich, Cheshire, said to remove up to 40,000 tonnes of CO2 each year]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/05/12/59484285-14161339-In_June_last_year_a_CCUS_facility_was_opened_in_Northwich_Cheshi-m-44_1733402320865.jpg)
Globally, geoengineering projects include injecting chemical aerosols into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight and sucking carbon dioxide (CO2) out of the air with giant fans. There's also 'ocean fertilization' (adding nutrients to the upper ocean to stimulate plant growth) and 'afforestation' (planting trees in areas where there was previously no forest).
![[Liquid carbon dioxide is stored in these units before being turned into sodium bicarbonate, used to make many over-the-counter products]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/05/12/59484291-14161339-Liquid_carbon_dioxide_is_stored_in_these_units_before_being_turn-a-43_1733402317724.jpg)
Although geoengineering projects are largely well-meaning attempts to save the planet, some scientists are concerned that expensive endeavors could backfire, causing destructive weather patterns and actually making climate change worse. Now, an interactive map reveals where exactly these geoengineering projects are taking place.
![[Researchers in the UK launched a high-altitude weather balloon that released a few hundred grams of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere Pictured, file photo of a meteorological balloon]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/05/13/92829897-14161339-image-a-58_1733405291208.jpg)
So, which ones are happening in your area?. The map, prepared by ETC Group and Heinrich Boell Foundation, sheds light on the 'alarming expansion' of geoengineering projects. The map, prepared by ETC Group and Heinrich Boell Foundation, sheds light on the 'alarming expansion' of geoengineering projects.
![[Pictured, a concept image for the Sizewell C nuclear power station on the Suffolk coast. The site will host nuclear power generation and 'direct air capture' (DAC), a form of geoengineering. Nuclear power is not geoengineering, although it's not without controversy too]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/05/15/92833393-14161339-image-a-63_1733410944900.jpg)
