Climate Geoengineers Dismayed They Have to Hide Experiments from the Public
13 hours ago Eric Worrall
Essay by Eric Worrall
Imagine a climate initiative so crazy even Californian greens reject it?
FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE
Geoengineering could be crucial in the fight against climate change. But first scientists need to learn how to talk to the public about it
3 APR 2025
2:00 PM ET
BY REBEKAH WHITE
When Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft, mayor of Alameda, California, scrolled through The New York Times on a Saturday morning in April 2024, a story about a controversial experiment caught her eye. Researchers from Washington state were trialing a machine that looked like a big snow cannon, which they hoped could one day be used to brighten clouds to reflect more of the Sun’s rays. They’d been spraying tiny salt particles into the air over the San Francisco Bay.
At first, Ashcraft wondered which neighboring town was hosting the test. But as she read, she was shocked to learn that the researchers were conducting their experiment right there in Alameda.
Ashcraft texted her acting city manager, who was equally surprised. The story revealed that the researchers had kept the test a secret to limit protests. “It wasn’t just an oversight that they forgot to tell the city,” Ashcraft says. “They chose not to.” Concerned about the safety of the test, city staff investigated. Though a report concluded it was harmless, the council eventually voted to ban it, discomfited by the researchers’ lack of transparency.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/04/09/climate-geoengineers-dismayed-they-have-to-hide-experiments-from-the-public/
