This 'Space Bubble' shield could counter the effects of climate change by reflecting the sun's rays
Architect Carlo Ratti is among a group of MIT researchers exploring the feasibility of fighting climate change with a conglomeration of “space bubbles” that would float above the Earth to reflect the sun’s rays.
The Space Bubbles research project proposes floating a “raft” made of frozen bubbles at the L1 Lagrangian Point – the point between the Earth and the sun where their gravitational pulls cancel out.
The bubbles would be made of a thin-film material and manufactured in space where, when interconnected, they would cover an area roughly the size of Brazil.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate: geoengineering
As the threat of climate change has gone from theoretical to apparent, proposals for a more aggressive attempt at mitigation through geoengineering have gained currency in some scientific corners, drawn skepticism or outright opposition in others. Prospects for geoengineering would likely improve in inverse proportion to prospects for nations to hit their emissions targets to slow, then reverse the warming of the planet.