Insanity In The UK: Blocking Out The Sun

One of the world's gloomiest countries is openly considering Solar Radiation Management. But what are the potential health and environmental consequences?

The UK is reportedly exploring Solar Radiation Management (SRM), a controversial form of geoengineering designed to cool the Earth by reflecting sunlight back into space. Proponents argue it could mitigate climate change, but critics warn of unintended consequences, including health risks for humans from the substances used.

This article examines:

• The UK’s involvement in weather manipulation

• Key chemicals proposed for SRM and their potential health impacts

• The scientific and ethical debates surrounding geoengineering

Let’s dive in.

What is Solar Radiation Management (SRM)?

SRM aims to reduce global temperatures by increasing Earth’s reflectivity (albedo). There are various ways of doing this, but the most discussed is stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI). This is where certain particles are released into the upper atmosphere to scatter sunlight. What kind of particles, exactly? Good question.

Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI)

There are four main types of particle, as shown in the table below. Each comes with potential risks to our health and the environment. Aluminium is well established as being toxic to the body, particularly to the neurological system - yet aluminium oxide is one of the substances that could be sprayed into the UK’s skies.

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) – another geoengineering approach

While SRM reflects sunlight, CDR aims to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere. Some methods involve chemical agents with their own risks:

These potential risks are serious, which begs the question:

What Happens If These Particles Fall to Earth?

Sulfate aerosols & respiratory disease

Exposure to SO₂ is linked to asthma, bronchitis, and heart disease (WHO, 2021). If SRM aerosols descend, urban air quality could worsen, particularly in polluted areas.

Aluminum & neurological risks

As mentioned above, nanoparticulate alumina (Al₂O₃) may contribute to neurodegenerative conditions (Exley, 2017). Meanwhile, the long-term risks of inhaling this toxic substance remain poorly understood.

Ocean fertilization & seafood contamination

Iron seeding could trigger toxic algal blooms, producing domoic acid (a neurotoxin found in shellfish). In other words, the damage it causes to our oceans and the food chain could be considerable.

The UK’s Position & Ethical Dilemmas

The UK government has previously funded SRM research through initiatives like SPICE (Stratospheric Particle Injection for Climate Engineering) (Stilgoe, 2015). But, did the UK’s people consent to this? What about the rest of the world? After all, climate is global, so drastic interventions are everyone’s business. Who decides?

Perhaps more pressing is the question of hubris. Climate is a hugely complex system and the side effects of interventions are largely unpredictable. We do not know whether altering sunlight could lead to devastating disruptions to vital weather systems such as monsoons, or to agriculture as a whole.

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A Dangerous Gambit

While blocking the sun might sound like science fiction, the UK is seriously considering it. The health risks of SRM chemicals—from lung damage to neurotoxicity—demand rigorous study before large-scale deployment.

The bigger question remains: should we ever manipulate the climate? Proponents will argue that in the throes of a climate emergency, desperate measures are justified. But are we even in a climate emergency? Many esteemed scientists would vehemently disagree. Certainly, the science on this is not as settled as corporate media and lobbyists would have us believe.

Given the uncertainty over such a fundamental matter, and given the potential scale of unintended consequences, it is vital that governments take extreme caution.

For more information on this sensitive topic, please head to the WCH website:

The World Council for Health stands for a better way.

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References:

• Beerling, D. J., et al. (2020). Potential for large-scale CO₂ removal via enhanced rock weathering with croplands. Nature, 583(7815), 242-248.

• Exley, C. (2013). Human exposure to aluminium. Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, 15(10), 1807-1816.

• Keith, D. W., et al. (2016). Stratospheric solar geoengineering without ozone loss. PNAS, 113(52), 14910-14914.

• Smith, S. J., et al. (2020). Aerosol emissions and public health impacts of stratospheric solar geoengineering. Nature Communications, 11, 4454.

• Stilgoe, J. (2015). Experiment Earth: Responsible innovation in geoengineering. Routledge.

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