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As emissions fill the atmosphere and the planet overheats, a risky and controversial climate cooling technology called solar geoengineering has begun to gain traction. Like a concept torn from science fiction it is inspired by the eruptions of volcanoes like Mt. Pinatubo whose eruption in 1991 sent a plume of sulfur dioxide into the stratosphere, reflecting sunlight away from the earth and dropping the planet’s temperature by more than a degree. In the decades since, research into this effect has been confined to labs and computer models, but that is all about to change. Plan C for Civilization follows the climate crisis and the emergence of solar geoengineering over more than a decade and across four continents, as leading scientist David Keith and fellow researchers attempt to launch the world’s first experiments into the stratosphere. But just as they are on the cusp of their launch, a move-fast-and-break-things start-up has begun selling “cooling credits” to customers, launching dozens of sulfur-filled balloons into the stratosphere. In normal times serious scientists and policy makers would ignore an idea as risky as solar geoengineering completely. But with the planet heating up and no end in sight what used to pass for normal has changed. There are no easy answers left, just a question; In a climate emergency, are any ideas too risky to explore?
