2 Comments
User's avatar
Fernando Gutierrez-Eddy's avatar

Hooked me with the analogy to the human patient. Clever to give urgency to our climate emergency. And love the solar shades in space. Would that cause dusk to come earlier and what consequences could that have, including to our animal earth co-inhabitants, including birds.

Expand full comment
Sofia Gutierrez Boker's avatar

Thank you for the questions. If the space sunshades are deployed to reduce incoming sunlight evenly across the day, they would not result in earlier dusk, but they could have a dimming effect. Because many animals and plants rely on light cues for activities such as mating, foraging, migration, sleep, and communication, space sunshades could have many ecological consequences. Before deploying any of the SRM technologies, we will need a clear understanding of potential impacts, including these.

Expand full comment