The international debate over how much to interfere with nature to slow the planet’s warming took center stage at a recent City Council meeting in Alameda, on the eastern edge of San Francisco Bay. Researchers had chosen Alameda as the first place to field test a device intended to brighten clouds, reflecting more light back into space.
The experiment, led by the University of Washington, involved spraying tiny sea-salt particles into the air across the flight deck of a decommissioned aircraft carrier in Alameda. The goal was to see if they could consistently spray the right size of particle to eventually change the composition of clouds above the ocean, increasing their reflectivity and bouncing more of the sun’s rays back into space.
However, concerns about the experiment led Alameda officials to ask the scientists to suspend testing, and ultimately, the City Council voted unanimously to call off the project entirely. Residents expressed alarm about the technology being used in their community, citing worries about health risks and questioning why the experiments were not conducted in the scientists’ own community.
While analysts hired by the City of Alameda found no health risks associated with the experiment, councilors still expressed uncertainty about the potential harmlessness of the project. The debate at the meeting extended beyond the impact of the salt particles to whether climate interventions like cloud brightening should be attempted at all.
The decision in Alameda has sparked a larger conversation about the implications of climate interventions and their potential to distract from addressing the root causes of climate change. Environmentalists worry that such technologies could slow efforts to transition to renewable energy and electric vehicles.
As the debate continues, the future of the cloud brightening experiment in Alameda remains uncertain. The City officials have made it clear that the project cannot continue without their approval. The University of Washington research team has not yet commented on the decision.
In the midst of this contentious debate, some good news emerged from the Orange County public library system, which has launched a meal-serving program and bilingual marketing campaign for the summer. The program, called Lunch at the Library, aims to serve hot meals to school-age children and promote local libraries to Hispanic communities. Supported by a grant from the Samueli Foundation, the program also includes initiatives to help teenagers find employment and improve their financial literacy.
